My Life Just Turned Insane :Revamped:
by RockyVRWolf
Summary: Ever since the Academy, Rocky's life has been far from normal. What happens when his life becomes more insane than usual? Read to find out! Starring: Slade, Robin, and OCs
1. My Life Just Turned Insane

Welcome to My Life Just Turned Insane Revamped. Grammar, spelling, and sentence structure is a lot easier to read now than the old one. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Please don't steal me. Only Slade has that power, unfortunately XD

**RockyVRWolf

* * *

**

The blinds were yanked up, the low morning sun streaming into the room.

"Get your ass out of bed already!"

Opening my blurry eyes, I saw my mom standing over me. A glare was plastered on her face.

"I'm up," I said groggily.

"You better be. We have to go to Walmart and then it's off to school. Your sister is going to try and apply for a job there. We have to go before school."

I groaned.

"Alright, I'm getting up…"

After a curt nod, my mom left. Grumbling, I sat up and stretched. I ran a hand through my messy white hair before jumping out of bed and going to my closet. I opened the door and pulled out my brown 'Non-Employee of the Month' T-shirt. I quickly put it on and then pulled out my baggy jeans to put them up over my black boxers. Once done with that, I went to my bathroom where I brushed my hair, gelled it into short spikes, and brushed my teeth. I headed downstairs to the kitchen.

My name is Rocky Rex Wolf and I'm a pretty average freshman at Grants Pass High. I have my parents, Chris and Richard, and two sisters, Olivia (Venus) and Abby (more like my half sister). I was fourteen-years-old and had gone to Ninja Academy in Konohagakure, Japan since I was six.

Reaching the kitchen, I found my chocolate chip pancake on the counter. I picked it up and quickly ate it while heading for the living room. I grabbed my shoulder strap backpack while holding my pancake in my mouth. I placed it over my head when the phone rang. I picked it up and answered.

"Allo?"

_"Hey, you ready for school?"_

It was my second best friend Lea. I rubbed the back of my head vigorously.

"Yeah, for the most part," I said. "I might be late because we have to go to Walmart this morning so Venus can apply for a job. I'll try to be there early, but more than likely we'll be late."

_"Well, I'll see ya at school then,"_ Lea said.

She hung up first then me. Going over to the counter, I picked up my cell phone right when it rang. I sighed in annoyance. My phone was running low on minutes.

"Hello?"

_"Hey, it's me; Cora. Are you going to Walmart by chance?"_

I rubbed at the itch in my right eye.

"Yeah, why?"

"_I don't think you should go,"_ she said. _"I have a bad feeling something is going to happen to you."_

I sighed.

"You've been wrong before, C," I said.

_"Well this time I might not be! I saw you sitting in the car, waiting for your mom and Venus to return from Walmart, when everything went black!"_ Courtney (Cora) said, sounding almost hysterical. _"Then the next thing I see is you in a large, dark room with someone else that I could not see, only hear."_

"Bro! Move your ass!" Venus called.

I glanced over my shoulder before saying, "There's nothing I can do. I have to go, sorry."

_"Rocky; no! Wait!"_

I pushed the END key on my cell and quickly put it on silent. I placed it in my pocket. Quickly rushing to the door, I slammed it shut and quickly jumped into the front seat of our black 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Mom put it in reverse and started down the drive. Going onto the street, mom turned right and headed off towards Walmart in a hurry. I looked out the window, quickly getting lost in thought.

My last several years as a Ninja took a toll on me, to be perfectly honest. I was no longer a Genin (a Ninja rookie that had different missions ranking from C or lower), but a Chunin (a Ninja that had different missions ranking A or B). I decided to stay a Chunin Ninja, the next level being Jounin. After the Chuunin Exam, Cora and Ice had both been adopted by American families, so they had to move over to North America where I originate. We were still Ninjas since we still had our headbands. It turned out the two families that adopted Cora and Ice (now named Courtney and Lea) lived in Grants Pass, Oregon, where I live. We go to the same high school and have been the best of friends ever since.

The back of my hand suddenly ached. Losing my train of thought, I looked down at it. My eyes narrowed slightly.

During the Chuunin Exam, a rouge Ninja named Orochimaru attacked Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A Mist Ninja named Kuráyami, who specialized in darkness (hence his Japanese name), had tried to kill Cora during that same time. Apparently he was her half brother, but she never knew about it. He wanted revenge on her because she had killed her family, Kuráyami's dad. I came to her rescue and fought him, promising Cora that I would defeat him. By the pain in my right hand, I had sealed the deal.

Now my hand was doing it again; usually ached when something bad was going to happen. With my left hand, I rubbed it gingerly.

Venus seemed to have noticed because she asked, "Are you okay, dork?"

My temple throbbed; that was Venus for ya.

"I am fine," I said, sounding annoyed.

"You don't sound fine."

"Then get your damn ears checked, woman."

Venus hit the back of my seat.

"Shut up you little twerp!"

"What's wrong with calling you woman?! That's what you are!"

"That's not the point!"

"Stop fighting you two!" mom shouted at us.

I folded my arms over my chest and slid down in my seat.

"Sorry mom," Venus and I said simultaneously.

I sighed in irritation. Ten minutes later, we arrived at Shittymart (what I like to call Walmart because it's evil). Venus quickly got out and headed for the large building. Mom handed me the car keys.

"The second you see us coming back, start the car for me, sweetheart."

Nodding, I said, "Yes Ma."

Mom got out and closed her door. I didn't bother locking the damn thing. I stuck the key into the ignition and left it hanging there. The key chains jingled slightly. The top of my hand ached again. This time, I scratched at it.

"Geez; if Courtney was right, I'll stab myself."

Deciding to try and ignore it, I rested my hands on my stomach and closed my eyes. The aching feeling continued. Then, all of a sudden, the back door opened up and quickly closed. I bolted up and looked over the seat, but saw no one. My eyes narrowed in anger.

_That better not be Venus trying to scare me, _I thought angrily.

Shaking my head, I turned back around in my seat and closed my eyes again. Then, before I knew it, a strong hand holding cloth or something was against my mouth and nose. I struggled to break free, but my mind was soon becoming foggy. My struggles soon diminished and my eyes drooped.

_Cora will_ _never let this down._

That was my last thought before the chloroform finished me off.


	2. Apprentice?

Wow, this is really different compared to the original dudes and dudettes. Go back and compare if you'd like; it changed a lot. Plus it flows way better and for those Naruto-newbs I added what some Naruto terms mean (some Jutsus are in Japanese, so its vital to let you know what they mean in English). So read on and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but Rocky and his friends

**RockyVRWolf

* * *

**

A splitting headache? Darkness? Something had to be wrong. I tried to remember back, but I couldn't. I remembered being in the car and then…nothing.

My eyes stirred behind my eye lids. I slowly opened them and blinked a few times to adjust to the dim lighting. Placing a hand to my head, I sat up and groaned. I felt disoriented and my body felt heavy. Lowering my hand slightly, I looked around. By the looks of it I was in some kind of hospital. Then why did it feel like a prison?

"Finally awake I see." My head perked up. I slowly turned my head. My eyes widened once I saw who it was. Gritting my teeth, I glared at the man in the two-tone mask. "I see you remember me."

My glare intensified.

"I can't forget a man who tried to kill me when I was fucking twelve."

The villain just shrugged.

"And yet, here you are."

I growled low in my throat.

"No matter what you say, I will never turn on my friends, Slade." The villain snorted. "My Nindo is to _never _kill an innocent life. And you can't change that."

"We will see," Slade said with a light chuckle. He paused. "Your mother's vehicle has been destroyed and there is no evidence of your kidnapping. Though I daresay, your mother will not be happy."

"And whose fault is that?" Slade didn't reply. "What do you want anyway?"

I could sense a smirk behind the mask.

"What I have always wanted from you, dear boy; for you to join my side."

I snorted.

"Why me? What's so special about me, huh?" I asked angrily. "Cora and Ice are more powerful than I am, so why not choose one of them?"

Slade took a moment to answer.

"Yes, your two best friends are strong, but I am not very fond of female apprentices after the last one."

That's right; I had remembered that in the news at one time about two years ago. A blonde Geomancer with light blue eyes had sacrificed her life to stopping the volcano that would have surely killed the city of Jump in California. Slade had mysteriously died and then came back with fire powers that he tried to kill me with.

"That was your fault you know," I said, annoyed. "You can't fully control an out of control teenager with whatever it is you used on her."

"Indeed." Slade paused again. "I have chosen you merely because boys are much more powerful, less _whiney_, than girls your age. Your Chakra control is much more powerful than your two friends'. And I prefer your ultimate Jutsus over the Saiyan's and the ice-user."

I snorted.

"What makes you think I won't use them against you and get out of here? I might not be able to fully stop you, but I can get away, couldn't I?"

"Yes, you could, but where would you go?" Slade asked. "You don't even know where you are or how to find your way out. Your efforts would be futile."

I continued to glare at the psychopath. He was right, I hated to admit. I had no idea if the place was above ground or below, if it had endless, dark hallways with locked doors, or if he had minions around to slow me down or stop me. I was like a rat in a cage. What was I supposed to do?

_Keep talking._

Yeah, that was the plausible thing to do. But talk about what?

"How does someone like you walk around without being seen?" I asked. "How did you outsmart me?"

"You are aware of cloaking technology?" Slade asked. I nodded. "The mechanism is built into my belt and it turns me entirely invisible. My butler, Wintergreen, dropped me off in your small town of Grants Pass, I went in, forced chloroform into your brain, and knocked you unconscious long enough to bring you down here in your mother's car."

Down here? So that meant we had gone south.

"So, what, we're in Mexico or something?" I asked.

Slade shook his head.

"Not that far. You will know soon enough."

I looked away; being terrorized by this madman again made my heart beat twice as fast. What made it worse was the fact that it was just me, alone, with this guy and my friends didn't know what had happened. Contacting was out of the question since my backpack wasn't anywhere near me. Plus, knowing Slade, even if it wasn't _much_, he probably had destroyed my cell phone _with_ the car.

"So you want me to be your apprentice?" I asked casually.

"That's correct."

I sighed. Gripping the end of the table I had been lying on, I stood up and glared at Slade.

"You can take your offer and shove it down your throat."

Now I really could sense Slade smirking.

"If you don't accept, people will die. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

I growled. This was a lose-lose situation. I may not know his possible victims personally, but that still didn't mean I wanted them dead by someone else. I had to choose the only option I had.

"You may be overjoyed by this blackmail, you condescending bastard, but I'm not," I said angrily. "But seeing as I have no choice-"

"I knew you would see things my way, _apprentice_."

That word truly sickened me and the way Slade said it sent a terrible chill down my spine. Sooner or later I was going to make him pay.

"Fine, now where are we?"

Slade turned his back on me.

"Follow me and you will find out."

I felt like punching this man's lights out. Nevertheless, I followed him out of the room and down too many hallways to count. What felt like ten minutes later, Slade stopped in front of a door with a security code panel on the wall. Folding my arms over my chest, I watched him type something in. Pushing ENTER, the door slid open. He walked through the doorway and I, reluctantly, followed. The door slid shut behind him me and we were cast momentarily in total darkness. Soon dim lights flickered on, revealing the room to be medium-sized with a cage near the other end. I saw a huddled mass within the steel wire walls. Slade approached the cage and I followed. The closer we got, the easier I could tell that a teenage boy wearing traffic light colors was inside. We stopped a few feet from it.

"You like kidnapping don't you?" I asked annoyed.

"Only what is rightfully mine," Slade said almost too calmly. My eyes narrowed. Pulling his leg back a bit, the man kicked the cage door. It clanged loudly, causing the boy to jump and awaken from his slumber. He tried to move his right arm, but he practically yelped in pain. I cringed. "Its time to wake up, little Robin; we have a guest."

My eyes widened at the name. I finally recognized him from papers and the ten o'clock news; Robin leader of the famous Teen Titans. With his left hand, the teen pushed himself up into a sitting position, growling as he looked at Slade.

"_Slade."_

Wow, the kid knew how to sound venomous. Slade chuckled.

"Good evening, Robin," he said. "I'm afraid you broke your arm in the process of getting you down here. What a pity, hm?" Robin growled. "It will take a while to heal, but my medicine will make it take less time than normal healing. In the meantime, my new apprentice will go through intense training, much like what you had gone through two and a half years ago."

Robin suddenly glanced wearily at me as I stood behind Slade on his right. My expression never changed. The Boy Wonder looked back at Slade.

"He has nothing to do with me," Robin said angrily. "Let him go."

Slade chuckled.

"He may not have anything to do with you, Robin, but he has something that I admire most; spirit."

I snorted.

"What do you need two apprentices for?" I asked. "That's why you kidnapped him too, right?"

Slade turned so that he could look at both Robin and me.

"That is exactly why," he replied. "I should have realized from the very beginning that more than one apprentice would suffice for what I want to accomplish. My first agenda is to finally destroy Jump City, take out the weak heroes, and then target the entire world, starting with the Ninja villages."

I growled.

"You can't take on a whole army of Ninjas, dumbass. They'd slaughter you."

"That may be so, but with you, it shouldn't be a problem."

That was a low blow. I did several hand signs, then ended with my middle and pointer fingers on each hand to connect front-to-back in a lowercase _T_.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Several loud _poofs_ could be heard around the room along with clouds of smoke. It soon cleared, revealing ten clones behind me in a line. This was Multi-shadow Clone Jutsu; a Ninjutsu technique that distributed equal amounts of Chakra to each clone, depending on how many. I preferred ten as a limit but I could create at least fifty now. Robin's masked eyes were wide in surprise. Slade seemed undisturbed.

"You have wasted Chakra; careless mistake."

My eyes widened. There were even more _poofs_ behind me. Slowly looking over my shoulder, I saw that my clones were gone. Lying on the floor where they had been sat throwing needles. Then, before I knew it, I was sent flying back after a kick to my chest. I fell and crashed into the floor, sliding back a few feet. Lowering my arms to my sides, I pushed myself up and pulled my lower body backwards. Slade was now standing where I had been moments before. I could see Robin looking at me worriedly. I slowly stood up and glared.

"You never did fight fair," I growled.

Slade ignored my comment.

"There is a bomb set to go off in Titans Tower with the push of a button," he said instead. "If you decide you want to pull another Jutsu, then it will go off, killing everyone inside. I don't give out many warnings, boy." I growled but said nothing. "Now then, if you accept my offer, training will start at six o'clock sharp. Breakfast is at five-thirty; Wintergreen will be waking you both up at five. Do you understand?"

I glanced at Robin, who was glaring at both Slade and me.

Looking back at Slade, I replied, "Yes, I understand."

Slade's eye narrowed ever so slightly.

"Starting tomorrow, you will address me as sir," he said. "Wintergreen will show you both to your room."

Lifting his arm, Slade pushed a button on his wrist. The cage surrounding Robin slowly sunk into the floor. The door to the left of me slid open. An old British butler, who I assumed was Wintergreen, entered and approached me. I watched as Slade yanked Robin to his feet by his bad arm. My eyes narrowed in a glare. The Boy Wonder let out a small growl of pain. Wintergreen stopped a few feet from me. Slade pushed Robin forward by moving his arm forward. The boy growled in pain and he stumbled. He managed to hold his balance.

"Make sure they don't try to escape, Wintergreen," Slade said.

"Yes, Master Slade."

I continued to glare at Slade, even as Wintergreen demanded I followed. Growling, I slowly turned around and followed the old man out, Robin standing in front of me. Wintergreen took us down four hallways until he reached a door. It slid open upon approach. He led us inside, told us to sleep well, and left without another word. I heard the door lock behind me. Looking around the room, I noticed a twin-sized bed on the far back wall in the middle, a three drawer oak dresser in a corner, an adjacent bathroom, and my backpack sitting against a corner. Ignoring Robin as he sat down on the bed, clutching his arm, I walked to my backpack, picked it up, and shifted through everything. My school books (math, English, and Spanish) were gone along with my cell phone, important papers, pens, pencils, and MP3 player. All that was left were an extra pair of black boxers, my PE shorts, and my lunch. Sighing, I took out the brown paper bag and joined Robin on the edge of the bed.

"Hungry?" I asked, taking out my peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

There was a pause as I unwrapped the sandwich.

"I suppose." Nodding, I tore half my sandwich and handed it to Robin, who took it and started to eat. We both ate in silence for a while. Taking my water bottle into my hands, I unscrewed the cap and drank half of the lukewarm water. "How do you know Slade, exactly?"

I looked over at Robin, the end of the bottle still in my mouth. Swallowing, I took it out and handed it to Robin.

"Ever since I was younger," I said as Robin cleaned the top and slowly drank water. "I trained as a Ninja in Konohagakure, Japan; Village Hidden in the Leaves. He first showed himself to me in The Hidden Mist Village on an important mission. He kept saying that one day I would kill my closest friends and join him willingly." Folding my arms over my chest I snorted. "He still doesn't get it, and that pisses me off."

The room was silent. I sighed.

"What is a Nindo, exactly?" Robin asked.

I looked at him. He was gingerly grasping his arm.

"It's a Ninja promise," I said. "My friend, Naruto, his Nindo is to become the greatest Ninja known as the Hokage. He also vowed to never go back on his word, no matter what. Breaking your Nindo would be like sinning. If Slade forced me to break my Nindo, Hell will be there to take me in."

"Oh." Robin and I were silent again. Rubbing my left eye, I stood up with my backpack in hand and walked over to the wall. Laying my backpack against it, I sat down, leaned back against the wall, and closed my eyes. "You're going to sleep on the floor?"

I opened my eyes to look at a confused Robin.

"Yeah," I said. "Your arm is still broken. I'm not going to make you sleep on it. You get the bed, I'll take the floor. Besides, I'm used to sleeping on sleeping mats when I was in Konoha."

"But it's a _metal_ floor."

Shrugging, I turned on my side and closed my eyes again.

"Good night, Robin."

Within five minutes of silence, I was fast asleep.


	3. Training Session

I added descriptions of Naruto terms within this chapter and will continue to do so when need be. I don't want to confuse people XD That is all!

**RockyVRWolf

* * *

**

It only felt like an hour ago that I had fallen asleep. The first thing I noticed was that I was literally sore. My hip, elbow, temple, and legs were hurting. Luckily, I was used to intense pain, so it came as a dull ache. I slowly sat up and rubbed my head. I thought it had been the pain that woke me up, but it turned out to be something else.

"Th-The pain… I…I c-can't make it s-stop."

Looking over at the bed, I saw Robin clenching his arm tightly as he sat in bed. He was sweaty terribly, like he had been outside in the blazing hot sun. He gritted his teeth and clenched his masked eyes shut tight. Rubbing my eye, I pushed myself to my feet.

"Blockhead didn't set your arm," I said, feeling the Boy Wonder's forehead; he was burning up. "We should get out of here and find Slade."

Robin growled.

"I don't want help from _him_!"

"I wouldn't want help from him either, but with something like this, I'd make an exception," I said, gripping Robin's good arm. "Come on, get up."

Robin, reluctantly, got to his feet. He cradled his broken arm to his chest, growling in pain. We walked to the door, but it remained shut. Keeping Robin behind me, I held my hand in front of the door. I concentrated my Chakra to form at the tips of my fingers. Placing them gently against the smooth metal surface, I allowed the Chakra to spread throughout every molecule. I soon heard a satisfying click as the lock came undone. The door slid open, revealing dark hallways beyond.

"Wh-How did y-you do that?" Robin asked.

"It's called Chakra," I said. I started down the hall, Robin coming behind me. "Chakra is a mix of spiritual and physical energies; mix a certain amount together to create Chakra." I tried a few doors, but they wouldn't open. "With Chakra, you can perform Ninjutsu and Genjutsu; nature attacks. There are five natures of Chakra: fire, wind, water, lightning and earth. Certain Jutsus are made of these natures. Like with the Fire Ball Jutsu, I can concentrate on fire Chakra to create a fireball that comes from my mouth. You can make up your own special Jutsus too. Like mine is called-"

Stopping, I suddenly felt alone. I turned around and saw Robin near a door; his body was slumped to the floor against the wall. Realizing he probably fainted from the pain and fever, I hurried over and crouched beside him. I was about to call his name when I heard muffled voices. Looking at the door beside us, I stepped over and placed my ear to it. The voices were too muffled to make out. I formed Chakra around my ear and listened closely.

"We need it done now, Wintergreen." My eyes widened slightly; that was Slade's voice. "How much longer until they're finished?"

"Two days sir; that's the earliest."

I heard Slade slam his fist on something hard. My eyes narrowed.

"The boy's training starts tomorrow, Wintergreen," he said angrily. "If his powers get out of control, he and everyone in here will be killed."

Now what was this; a boy with powers that needed to be in control? This seemed too weird for Robin and me. Was Slade going to kidnap another kid? I growled at the possibility. Standing up straight, I formed Chakra at my fingertips again and reached out to the door. I quickly pulled it back when it slid open on its own accord. I stepped back when I saw Slade and Wintergreen in the doorway. The villain's eye narrowed slightly.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked. "Your door was locked."

I snorted.

"That doesn't matter right now," I said, motioning to Robin. "He needs his arm set and in a cast, since you failed to do it once he got here."

Slade stared silently at me momentarily before addressing his butler.

"Wintergreen, make sure Robin's arm is taken care of while I escort Rocky back to his room; I will be there shortly."

"Yes sir."

Wintergreen easily picked Robin up into his arms. Slade and I watched as the old man carried him away.

"H-Hey!"

Slade had grabbed my arm roughly and was practically dragging me down the hall. We soon arrived at my room, but the door remained closed. Slade stood behind me. My eyes were narrowed.

"I will break Robin's other arm if you don't tell me why you were eavesdropping," Slade said dangerously.

My hands curled into fists at my side. Growling lightly, I swung my right arm around, aiming it for the man's head. Before I knew it or could pull away, Slade slammed my arm up against the door, holding tightly to my wrist. I glared at him and growled.

"First off, I wasn't eavesdropping," I said angrily. "Second, you forgot to set his arm in the first place, therefore he woke up with a fever, waking me up along with him." Slade's grip tightened slightly. "We decided to come looking for you so that you _could_ set his arm since you broke it in the fucking first place."

I yelped in pain when Slade slammed my arm against the door again. My eyes were clenched tightly shut, my teeth clenched.

"I am not very fond of your attitude right now, apprentice."

I opened my eyes to glare at him.

"Well I'm not very fond of your one-track mind about 'killing my friends because they slow me down', bullshit!"

Again, before I knew it, my arm was wrenched behind my back painfully and my face smashed against the door. I growled.

"You are drying my patience, boy," Slade said menacingly. "Sooner rather than later, you will see things my way and you will break your Nindo. Until that time, if you or Robin act up, the Titans and their precious Tower will be destroyed."

My arm was really starting to hurt.

"Yes, okay, I get it; I won't act up. Now will you _please_ let go of my arm?"

After a few seconds of silence, Slade slowly released my arm. I pulled it around and cradled it to my chest.

"I still expect you during training at six."

I turned around to reply, but the door slid open and Slade kicked me back inside. The door slid shut after I crashed into the floor. I pushed myself up while grasping the edge of the bed.

"Asshole," I muttered.

Deciding that I was really tired, and I honestly didn't expect Robin to return tonight, I got into bed and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

  
It was 5:59 in the fucking morning and I was dead tired. Robin was standing beside me as we waited against the wall for Slade to show up. He had a cast on his arm. I glanced at him.

"Is your arm feeling better now?"

"Yeah," Robin said quietly.

I snorted and folded my arms over my chest.

"You don't sound very convincing," I said.

Robin took a moment to respond.

"Yeah, it hurts a bit," he said. "Wintergreen set the bones back and Slade put on the cast. Then he asked me why we had been outside the door I had collapsed next to. I told him I had fainted from the unbearable pain and fever, but he didn't believe me."

"He doesn't believe anyone," I said.

"Yes, I know all too well," Robin said.

I glanced wearily at him.

"Last night, Slade mentioned a boy with powers that needed to be controlled. I guess he's making something for this kid. Would Slade kidnap a third kid maybe?"

Robin shrugged his good shoulder.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Looking at the floor, I sighed. I looked around, hoping to see Slade, but he wasn't here yet. It was now 6:01.

"Well, I am glad to see that someone knows how to make it on time."

I looked over towards the door. Slade walked up to stand in front of me. I stepped away from the wall and lightly glared at him.

"For someone who believes in being on time, you sure do a bad job of it." Robin cleared his throat. I got the hint. It was six in the morning; I didn't know Slade's crankiness level. "So, what are we doing? Sparring?"

"It will be much simpler than that," Slade said.

Robin snorted.

"Since when have your training sessions been simple, Slade?" he asked.

It was my turn to clear my throat.

"Yeah, so, simple as in what?" I asked.

Slade looked over at Robin.

"You need to return to your room, Robin," he said. "You cannot fight with that arm." I glanced at Robin out of the corner of my eye. The hero gripped his arm by the elbow and walked past me. The door slid shut behind him as he left the giant training room with its many rotating gears. I turned my attention back to Slade. "First, a warm-up." Lifting his arm, Slade pushed a button. Thirty robots quickly surrounded me. I instantly went into a fighting stance. "You have a minute to destroy them all; begin."

Two robots instantly went in for an attack. Stepping back, I quickly formed a few hand signs and then ended in a lowercase _T_.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Four clones appeared around me. They quickly attacked robots around them. Running forward, I jumped into the air and front flipped over two of them. I punched the one behind them with a Chakra punch. Its head came flying off, knocking into another one. That robot knocked the head to the floor and then aimed a punch at me. I jumped backwards to dodge and then sent a leg sweep at its ankles. It fell over backwards. Spinning around in a roundhouse kick, I kicked another one in the chest, causing it to fly into three that were about to tag team two of my clones. Soon only four were left.

Making my clones vanish, I attacked the final four with ease. They fell around me, their body parts crackling with electricity. Out of nowhere, a booted foot kicked me in the side. I flew back and crashed into the floor. Rolling over backwards, I got to my feet. I saw Slade standing where I had been before. I growled.

"Shit man; what is your deal?!"

Slade folded his arms over his chest.

"While I congratulate you on your technique, using clones was not an option," he explained.

I glared at him.

"How was I supposed to know?" I asked haughtily.

"Seeing as I shouldn't have to tell you should be the obvious answer, apprentice."

I snorted.

"Next you're going to tell me I should know what we're doing today," I said.

"Exactly." I snorted but said nothing. "Now then, this next exercise will last the rest of the day. To steal successfully and without detection, you must master the art of stealth. You can maneuver undetected in an open battlefield, but within enemy walls, you may run into trouble. Therefore, you will try to avoid me until six tonight."

"What's the catch?" I asked.

"Let's just say you'll be trapped like a caged animal."

Slade raised his arm and pushed yet another button. All of a sudden, the floor started to violently shake. Within seconds, metal walls rose high into the air and surrounded us. They were at least forty feet high.

"A maze?" I asked.

"Correct," Slade said. "You have no weapons and you may not use Jutsus. The only exception is using Chakra if you desperately need it. There are no exits; only I have the key to get out of here. Once you avoid me until six, for one hour you will try to take the key from me. If you succeed in both tasks, you will have half a training day tomorrow. Do you understand the rules?"

I replayed everything Slade told me in my head.

"Can I use clones for decoys if need be?" I asked.

"I will grant you that much, but you may only use up to ten clones. Once the final clone has been produced, you may no longer use them."

I nodded.

"Limit of ten clones and no weapons; got it."

"I will give you a head start."

I chuckled despite the current position I was in.

"How kind of you…"

Stepping to the side, Slade revealed the start of the maze. I ran past him without a word. So no Jutsus except for the Shadow Clone technique and my limit was ten. For twelve hours I had to avoid Slade at all costs while avoiding dead ends in the process. I would only use my clones if I desperately had to.

Ten minutes went by without a trace or sound from Slade. I slowed to a walk. I eventually turned the wrong corner and found myself at a dead end. I turned around and was about to try a different direction, but Slade was standing against the wall lazily. I stepped back when he pushed away from it. Soon my foot hit the wall behind me.

"An hour hasn't even gone by, apprentice," he said mockingly as he advanced, "and already I have you backed into a corner; how very disappointing."

I snorted.

"Its obvious you know this maze like the back of your hand," I said. "And besides-"

"That's a clone." The Rocky at the dead end vanished in a puff of smoke. Slade turned halfway around. I stared expressionlessly at him as I leaned against the wall behind me. "Well I guess it would be kind of hard to figure that out when you don't have an eye like the Sharingan or Byakugan. And who knows, I might be a clone. Can you guess?"

Slade closed his eye and snorted in amusement.

"You are the real one," he said. He opened his eye. "You wouldn't waste clones."

I smirked.

"Yeah; I wouldn't."

I used the Substitution technique and vanished from the spot. Sighing, I continued to travel through the maze in silence.


	4. Maze

There are a few more Naruto Terms in this chapter that I have explained the best to my ability. If you have questions, just ask.

**RockyVRWolf

* * *

**

So far I was doing pretty well. I kept track of the time the best I could and wagered I had just six more hours to go. Luckily I hadn't run into anymore dead ends or Slade for that matter. I did have to use three other clones though, making a total of six left. I would save the rest for when I had to fight Slade for the key. I wasn't sure what kind of key it could be, but Slade had it on him, that much was certain.

A light bulb suddenly came on in my mind. Looking at the wall next to me, I looked up and saw just how high it was. I raised my hand to my face. Chakra formed on the tips. Turning to face the wall, I placed my hand on it and sent the energy through. I did the same with my other hand. Lifting the right up, I touched the wall again, pulling my legs up while doing so. I was soon climbing the wall like a spider. About thirty seconds went by before my hand grasped the edge. I pulled myself up all the way and stood, making sure my balance was maintained. I looked up and saw nothing but darkness. I wondered just how big the room was. Looking around, I calculated three hundred by four hundred feet for length and width. To put it simply, it was a big ass, fucking room.

"You are leaving yourself wide open you know."

Smirking, I crouched down like a frog and stared down at Slade.

"A good Ninja must know his surroundings. Otherwise they will get lost," I said. I paused. "Have the time?"

"Yes, but I am not about to tell you," Slade said. "You have a long way ahead of you however."

Looking over, I pushed off the wall I was on and landed on the one across from it.

"That gives me enough time to memorize where every place is then! Catch me if you can!"

Standing up straight, I turned around and ran across the wall. Reaching the end, I jumped across to the next one. I made my fifth clone and made it go in a different direction. He took off and did what I was doing; memorizing turns and dead ends. Once I made the clone disappear, all of its information would return to me and I would have everything memorized. That is, if Slade didn't destroy my clone first.

An hour later, I jumped off the wall and landed in a crouch at the bottom. I sat down for a breather and yawned.

"Okay, now five more hours to go. Should I stay here and rest or keep going?"

_Rocky, will you stop talking to yourself._

I almost wacked my head against the wall as I jumped in surprise. I quickly looked around but saw no one there.

"What the-?"

_Are you listening to me, Rocky?_

I shook my head. Wait…!

"Cora, is that you?"

_Who the Hell else would it be?_

I laughed nervously.

"Yeah, right well, what are you wanting?" I asked. "I'm kinda busy right now."

_Doing what exactly? Trapped in a cage? Trying to escape a deranged psychopath? Not listening to me when I say something bad is going to happen if you go to fucking Walmart?!_

I jumped to my feet.

"I told you-!"

_Yeah, I know! 'I had no choice Cora'. You could've walked instead!_

I sighed heavily.

"If I had, I would've been late for school," I said. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? Next time, I will listen; promise."

Cora sighed within my head.

_Alright, then listen to this: If Slade gives you unmarked pills, don't take them. Does that register in your thick head?_

I growled in annoyance.

"Yes, it registered," I said. "By the way, how do you know it was Slade that kidnapped me?"

_It's obvious; who else is crazy enough to kidnap you?_

"Good point," I muttered. "Anyway, if you can, Ice, Sheilee, Alan, and you need to come down to Jump City, California. The super heroes, the Teen Titans, are in danger if their leader Robin or I disobey Slade. So get here as soon as you-"

Something hit my foot. Looking over slowly, I saw a small round sphere on the floor and it was flashing. My eyes widened.

_What the Hell was that?!_

I crashed painfully into the floor after flipping over sideways. The pain in my foot increased.

'_A-A bomb.'_

_Are you alright?_

Rolling over, I sat up and examined my foot. Part of my shoe was missing, exposing a slightly bleeding side of my foot underneath. I carefully removed my shoes and socks. The damage wasn't too bad, but would I be able to walk or run with them?

Standing up, I tested my weight on my bleeding foot. It throbbed, but I could walk fine with it. It would be swollen later, but for now it was okay. I smirked.

"At least I can be lighter on my feet," I mused out loud.

_Are you trying to be a Dragonball Z nerd or something? _Cora asked.

Ignoring her, I quickly scaled the wall and jumped over to the other side. I growled in pain as I landed in a crouch on my bleeding foot.

"Can't talk; running for my life!"

_What?!_

Turning, I ran down the path before me. I turned right, then left, ran ahead, turned right, ran down the path, and turned right again. Transferring Chakra to my feet and hands, I took a giant leap, grabbed the wall and quickly ran up it to the top. I crouched like a frog again and looked around at the floor. There were no signs of Slade anywhere. Standing up straight, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

'_Alright; focus, relax, and listen to your surroundings.'_

All sounds became muted. My ears twitched slightly. High up above I heard metal grinding against metal. The unseen gears hummed slightly as they rotated. The swish of a tiny object in front of me caught my attention. Opening my eyes, I jumped backwards from the small sphere in front of my face. It exploded. Falling towards the opposite wall, I back flipped and landed on the side of it, my right hand and foot connected to the metal with Chakra. I quickly slid down to the floor and then jumped backwards at an angle to avoid the foot coming at my chest. I turned my body sideways to dodge the next kick. Raising my arm up, I blocked Slade's punch. Lifting my foot back, I placed it to the wall and then pushed off. I jumped up towards the opposite wall, kicked off back to the other wall, and continued my way up. I back flipped onto the ledge and landed in a crouch again. Standing up straight, I ran on top of the wall, jumped over to the next one and continued on my way. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Slade chase after me.

'_Damn…'_

Jumping to the next wall in front of me, I quickly changed direction. Turning the corner of the wall, I jumped to the one to the left of it and then dropped down to the other side. I continued running down the path while performing a few hand signs after biting my thumb to draw blood.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," I whispered.

Kuchiyose no Jutsu was the Summoning Jutsu. You bit your thumb to draw blood, perform the hand signs boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram, and then say 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu' to activate it. A blue headband with a metal piece on the front appeared in my right hand. On the metal piece was a leaf; the symbol of my village. I quickly tied the headband to my forehead as I turned a corner.

"For a Ninja, your stealth is weak."

I rolled over backwards to get back on my feet. I slid back a few inches before standing up straight and glaring at Slade.

"At least I don't use cheap cloaking technology to hide," I said with a growl.

Slade just shrugged.

"If I catch you again, you lose. I'd start running again if I were you."

I back flipped away.

"I plan on it."

I turned the corner and started to run again. I tried to contact Cora this time, but I couldn't get through. If I could just find out the time…

Well, I decided to head back for the middle of the maze where Slade and I started. Maybe he wasn't expecting this, so it was my best bet. What felt like an hour and a half later, I reached the middle of the maze. I kept my ears strained in order to hear footsteps. Sitting down, I leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath. My stomach suddenly growled. I groaned; it was used to lunch at one in the afternoon. Sleep was also sounding good.

I jumped to my feet. Seconds later, Slade appeared in the square space. He stopped right when he entered, giving us equal space.

"The key is high up above you," Slade said. "You have five remaining clones and one hour to retrieve the key. If you fail, you will have two extra training hours tomorrow night. Do you understand the rules?"

"Yes," I said. "All I can use is my clones then?"

"Correct."

"Will you be using weapons?" I asked with a glare.

Slade folded his arms over his chest.

"No, I will not. You may begin."


	5. Failed

Jumping off the top of the wall, I snatched out at the dangling key, but fell short. My finger barely brushed the tip. I fell back towards the floor. After crashing painfully into it, I pushed myself up and growled. Slade stood off to the side, watching me fail for the last ten minutes. He hadn't even tried to stop me. Maybe I was that boring.

The key was actually just a button on a metal wristband; the same one from Slade's wrist. It wasn't connected to a chain or wire, so I assumed it could levitate or something invisible was holding it up there. It stayed in the same place, which was good for me. All I knew was that there was thirty minutes left to get it. I stood up and readjusted my headband.

'_Maybe I'm too weighted down,' _I thought.

Well my shoes had been off for the last few hours and that helped me run faster. I may not be as well muscle-toned as some kids my age, but being skinny had its advantages. Reaching back towards my neck, I gripped my T-shirt and pulled it up over my head. I tossed it aside, feeling lighter already. Luckily I had put my knee-length gym shorts on this morning instead of my jeans. After flexing my fingers and aching arms, I ran towards the wall, jumped, and grabbed a hold of it with Chakra. I ran up the wall, got to the top, and started running as fast as I could around the perimeter of the square space. After running around it five times, I ran to the middle of one and jumped off as hard as I could. I snatched at the key, but I felt something wrap around my ankle. I was suddenly yanked away from the dangling key. Within seconds I crashed into the floor.

"Grr…"

"Watching you repeat yourself is boring me." I slowly sat up and growled at Slade. Looking at my ankle, I saw black wire wrapped tightly around it. I grabbed it with both hands and started tugging at it. "Its very simple really; manage to punch or kick me and the key will descend."

I managed to pull the wire loose and off my ankle. Standing up, I glared at Slade.

'_Why didn't he tell me before we started?'_

So all I needed to do was hit Slade at least seven to ten times for the key to reach the top of the wall. Plus, I had a good Ninja technique to use on Slade. All I had to do was get the man's permission…

"Hey, think you could let me use my special Ninja technique after I run out of clones?" I asked.

"And which one would that be?"

"You know which one," I replied.

Slade stared silently at me momentarily before snorting in amusement.

"I will allow it."

A small smirk graced my lips.

"Then get ready for the biggest ass kicking of your life," I said cockily. I quickly performed hand signs. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two clones appeared behind me. They swiftly leaped over my head and ran at Slade. He raised his arms up in defense as the clones aimed punches for his face. I quickly made another one as Slade spun around in a roundhouse kick. He caught the first two clones in the chest, causing them to fly back and disappear in clouds of smoke. My third clone appeared out of it and aimed a punch at his face. Using the Substitution technique, I reappeared behind Slade, made my last two clones, and got ready for one of my strongest techniques; one that had been remade twice already.

My clones managed to hit Slade a total of twelve times before two were destroyed. My final clone aimed an uppercut to the villain's jaw. Jumping back, I landed on the wall and pushed off right when my clone sent Slade high into the air. As it zoomed past him, he spun around to face me. Back flipping, I caught Slade in the chin. He was at least over halfway up from the floor now. Falling back down, I landed on the floor and pushed off. I appeared on Slade's left, spun around, and aimed my foot at his stomach.

"DRAGON'S BARRAGE!" My foot connected with Slade's stomach. Standing up straight, I pushed off as hard as I could and aimed my hand for the key, which was now within reach. "Ha!"

My fingers wrapped around the cool, metal wristband. I soon started descending at a fast speed. Keeping my legs down and out, I fell towards the edge of the wall. My foot touched down. Back flipping away from it, I fell back towards the floor. My ankle was suddenly caught with one hand. My body was pulled back and I fell flat on my face. My hand unclenched the key and my entire body relaxed. My foot was dropped to the floor.

"You have ten seconds to stand up with the key in hand."

My fingers twitched. I could feel my Chakra spreading through me rapidly as anger started setting in. The key was still underneath my hand. I felt Chakra cover my feet, travel up my legs, past my torso, and up my chest. Gritting my teeth, I growled.

"You…son of a…b-"

Slade kicked me in the side, causing me to roll over onto my back.

"Time is up, apprentice." My Chakra had vanished. Sliding my arms back, I pushed myself up and growled. "You may have failed your test, apprentice, but I'm feeling generous today." I slowly got to my feet, looked up, and glared at Slade. I gritted my teeth. "You will have tomorrow off and I will move your extra hours the day after." Lifting up the key, he pushed the button. The room shook as the walls went back into the floor. "I hope you can find your way back to your room. Get some rest; you will need it in the next few days."

With that said, Slade turned around and walked away. I glared after him.

"That's it? I failed both tests miserably and you're not even going to attack me or anything?" Slade really was crazy, I could tell that. How did someone like that change their mind so easily? I snorted. "Fine; this gives me time to come up with a plan to get rid of the bomb and escape from this Hell hole."

A few feet away I saw my T-shirt. I walked over and picked it up. My shoes and socks were near the exit. I picked those up and I headed out to search for my temporary room. Entering, I threw everything aside and then went to the bathroom. I had ignored Robin, who was sitting on the bed, staring off into space. The door slid shut behind me. Feeling gross, I turned on the shower, finished undressing, and got in.

I looked up at the jets as they rained down over my eyes. My hair fell flat over my head. The second I closed my eyes, the second I saw the Ninjas from my past; two that had been jerks. Manúke, Cora and my team mate who had been accidentally killed during a Chuunin fight between him and Cora, and Kuráyami, a cocky Ninja who specialized in darkness (hence his name), seemed pissed at me in my head.

Kuráyami was out there, somewhere. We soon became friends after Orochimaru attacked Konoha. I wonder how pissed he'd be at me knowing that I was working with the enemy, much like he had?

_There's a huge difference between you and Kuráyami, albino._ I was now standing in darkness. Looking up, I saw Manúke standing a few feet away. He snorted. _No matter what, you won't give in to Slade, like Kuráyami did with Orochimaru. Not to mention you're not out of control like Cora when she killed me._

Opening my eyes, I knew Manúke was right. My Nindo was keeping me sane, keeping me from fully obeying Slade. I wasn't going to give in to him.


	6. Pills and Hell

The next morning, I woke up with a start and almost forgot where the hell I was. Once my eyes adjusted and I saw the blank, metal walls, my memory returned to me. I flopped back down and sighed heavily. I suddenly realized water was running. Sitting up, I looked to the right and saw light streaming out from underneath the bathroom door. Looking around, I saw Robin gone.

I stretched and yawned. Getting out of bed, I scratched the back of my head and approached the desk, which had suddenly appeared there. There was a stack of papers, a black laptop, and a black bundle sitting on it. I picked up the papers and quickly shifted through them. There was a training schedule, a map of the lair, very detailed two pages for my first assignment in two weeks, and instructions for the laptop. I scratched the back of my head uncertainly. Setting the pages down, I sat in the computer chair and lifted the lid of the laptop all the way until the screen sat straight up in the air. I found the ON switch and pushed it.

The laptop turned on. It took a few minutes for the login page to appear. After finding the username and password, I typed them in and then ENTER. A black _S_ appeared on the screen. It rotated sideways for thirty seconds. The _S_ soon vanished and small icons appeared on screen. After a few seconds, the desktop had the usual stuff like the Recycle Bin, Mozilla Firefox, My Computer, etc. Seeing the file named READ ME, I double-clicked on it. Notepad came up on screen with a memo typed onto the page. After rubbing my itchy, tired eye, I read it.

It said:

_Apprentice,  
Starting tomorrow, in order to control your anger, you will be taking two red pills each morning before training. You will also be taking two blue pills before going to bed at night; they will help you sleep. Fail to take the pills and you will suffer the consequences.  
SW_

_'Courtney warned me about this.'_

I exited out of the READ ME document and opened Mozilla. Going to Yahoo, I signed into my inbox. I had some SPAM items and an e-mail from my friend from Wales, UK. I read through it when the shower shut off.

_Rocky,_

_It's Lucy. How's it going withcha? Well, I'm having family problems and I know how good you are at helping people and I wanted to share my problems with you._

_Both of my parents started drinking again and my dad hit my little brother for being too loud. It happened yesterday and my brother still won't come out of his room. What should I do to help him out? Reply when you've got the chance._

_Love,_

_Lucy_

The bathroom door slid open. I ignored Robin to reply to the e-mail. Once done, I sent the reply and then closed the tab. The browser became blank and I closed the lid.

"Why not e-mail your family and friends about your kidnapping?" Robin asked suddenly from behind me.

"Because he'll be punished if he does." I felt Robin jump away from the chair. Yawning, I stood up and turned to face Slade. "Or, better yet, the Titans dead bodies will be all over the news. We wouldn't want that, would we?"

Robin growled. I rubbed at my aching, tired eyes.

"Yeah, now what do you want?" I asked. "I thought I had today off. By the way, have the time?"

Slade stared expressionlessly at me. He was probably contemplating whether or not to punish me for sounding like a punk. I yawned.

"Starting tonight, you will begin taking your medication," Slade finally said. I sat back down. "The blue pills will be taken before bed at ten and the red ones in the morning before training at six. In two weeks from today, you will be assigned your first assignment. Do you understand?"

I yawned again before answering.

"Yeah, I understand."

Walking up to the desk, Slade put the bottles down and then left, the door locking behind him. Reaching over, I picked up the bottles with one hand and stared at them wearily.

"What are they for?" Robin asked.

I set the bottles back down before answering.

"The red ones control my anger and the blue ones help me sleep at night," I explained. "But Courtney told me not to take them and I'm going to listen to her this time."

Closing the lid to the laptop, I stood up and grabbed the black bundle that was also left for me. I opened it up to reveal a black top with long sleeves. Robin sat down in my chair to look at the papers sitting on my desk. Using Chakra, I cut the sleeves off and tried it on. It fit snuggly against my skin but wasn't too loose. Hating to admit, it was comfortable.

"You have to steal from a Wayne Enterprises building next week."

Looking over my shoulder, I watched as Robin threw the papers down onto the desk in anger. I turned to face him fully.

"I'm sorry, but it's not my fault," I said. "The only one to blame is Slade and his thick head." Robin snorted. "Look, once my friends arrive, we'll combine our forces and defeat him. We'll find a way; promise."

Robin banged his forehead on the desk. Deciding I was still tired, I got back into bed and instantly fell back to sleep.  


* * *

I woke up with a start and almost hit Robin in the face. He had backed up quickly just in time. For some reason I felt like I had to do something important.

Scrambling out of bed, I practically flew into the computer chair and lifted the lid of the laptop.

"What; you like watching people sleep?" I asked Robin as I quickly went to a site called Meebo. "I could've-Yes! Cora!"

Double clicking her name, a window popped up on screen. I quickly typed in my message.

"I was trying to wake you up actually," Robin said. "You slept all day. It's almost-"

I wasn't paying attention; was waiting in anticipation for Cora to respond. I grinned when the words 'Cora typing' came up. Her message soon came through.

_I told Lea, Sheilee, and Alan what was going on. We told our parents too, but they wouldn't listen; said you probably just decided to run away. So we can't try rescuing you until school's out or they'll get suspicious and think we had something to do with it or something. I hope you can hang on until summer, but there's nothing we can do until then. Be careful ok?_

I responded:

_Yeah,_ _its fine. Robin's arm is broken and we need to get him out of here too. And we can't escape until the Titans are safe. We'll find out what to do until then. It could give me a chance to get into Slade's head in the meantime; figure out exactly what makes me so special._

I sent her the message. She waited for almost a minute before typing a response. I soon heard footsteps coming towards the room. I quickly added to my previous message.

_Whatever you were going to say, it can wait; __can't talk anymore. I think Slade's on his way. I will keep you posted whenever I can._

Quickly shutting everything off, I closed the lid, jumped out of the chair, and sat back against the headboard of the bed. The door soon slid open and Wintergreen, not Slade, stepped inside. He stopped next to the desk.

"Master Slade would like you to take two blue pills now," he said. He looked at the desk. "Where are they?"

I stood up, stepped forward, and glared at the old man.

"You can tell Slade to take them himself so they don't go to fucking waste because I'm not taking them."

"I thought you might say that."

Slade was leaning against the frame of the door. I glared at him. Pushing away from the door, he walked over to the desk drawer and opened it. He pulled out the blue pill bottle and then shut the drawer. Walking up to me, he grabbed my wrist and shoved the bottle into my hand. I looked down at the bottle, staring at it expressionlessly. My glare intensified.

"Rocky, the Titans-" Robin said.

I clenched the bottle in my hand, close to breaking. I looked up at Slade, shoving the bottle into his chest and letting go. It fell with a clatter to the metal floor.

"I'm not taking anything you give me."

Slade's eye narrowed. Before I knew what hit me, I was on my knees, clutching my stomach. My eyes felt like they would come out of their sockets. I closed them. The sound of rattling pills reached my ears. Opening my right eye a crack, I saw Slade open the pill bottle and pour two into his hand. He grabbed a handful of spikes and forced my head back. He shoved them into my mouth and held his hand over it. Unable to breath properly, I swallowed the pills. Slade yanked my head back down. I glared at the floor, my hands curling into fists. I carefully pushed myself to my feet.

"Disobey me again and the Titans die," Slade said.

Slowly looking up at him, I growled.

"Go to _Hell_."

I was instantly kicked in the chest, crashing back into the wall behind me. My body slid down to the floor. I growled again.

"I've been to Hell before boy," Slade said as he crouched down in front of me. I looked at him and glared. "Believe me when I say this; Hell is a place where you wouldn't want to go. You know nothing of Hell." Slade replaced the cap on the bottle and shoved it harshly into my stomach. He stood up straight. "We'll work on that attitude of yours tomorrow. Do you understand boy?"

Looking up at him, I said, "Yes, I understand."

Slade's eye narrowed.

"Yes, you understand _what_?"

I gritted my teeth to prevent myself from growling.

"Yes, I understand…_sir_."

Slade stared silently down at me momentarily.

"That will do…for now. But disobey me again and the Titans are dead. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

I swallowed my pride.

"No, sir."

There was a moment's silence before Slade spoke again.

"Come, Robin. You have your own room now."

"Yes, sir," Robin said.

They left the room, the door locking behind them. Standing up, I looked down at the pill bottle. I growled angrily. Facing the wall, I dropped the pill bottle and formed a fist, Chakra forming around it. Lifting it up, I punched the wall each time a word came out of my mouth.

"Dammit; dammit; dammit; dammit!"

What the Hell was wrong with me? I was stronger than this. If I could defy the bastard in Ninja Academy, why couldn't I do it now? And what did Slade know about Hell? I had never been so pissed off in my life until now. Would I have to swallow my pride day after day after _day_ until my friends helped rescue Robin and me?

"I'll show you," I said angrily, throwing the bottle at the wall where the wall had chipped. "No one pushes me around and gets away with it." Darkness seemed to swallow me. "_No one…_"


	7. Training and Powers

The next morning, and the morning after, and the morning after that, I had reluctantly taken the pills. My training was brutal. I could never make it to my room without stumbling. The training room was so dark that receiving no sunlight for several days was making me lightheaded. It was so hard to concentrate that I literally felt like I would pass out any minute.

Slade's fist suddenly connected with my jaw. I crashed into the floor on my back. Sweat was running down my forehead and face. Quickly sitting up, I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. I could sense Slade's cold stare looking down on me.

"Have you've been taking your medication, apprentice?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," I said, rubbing my sore jaw with the base of my hand, "the blue ones at night and the red ones before training, like you told me to."

"Then why are you still on the floor?"

I wiped my jaw with my knuckle and stood up. I spat onto the floor, blood mixed with saliva. Getting into a relaxed fighting stance, I formed Chakra around my right hand. Slade threw smoke bombs at my feet, smoke billowing out. Growling, I ran right through, my fist trailing behind me. Jumping out, I pulled my hand over my head and aimed my Chakra-covered fingers for Slade's mask. He quickly ducked, spun around, and elbowed me in the gut. I flew back and crashed into the floor. Rolling over back to my feet, I put my hand to the floor and slid to a stop before pushing off with my toes. I was about to run ahead and attack, but my stomach churned horribly. I stopped a few feet away from Slade, feeling like I would vomit any second. The left side of my head pulsed in slight pain. I placed my hand to it.

"I'm probably going to be sick," I said groggily, feeling weaker by the second. A headache was forming. "Can we stop?"

Slade folded his arms over his chest.

"Though I'm sure you'll be just fine, you have a mission outside of my hideout tonight," he said. "We'll stop training short today then. But tomorrow will last longer. I will send Wintergreen with medicine for your headache." Unfolding his arms, Slade turned around and headed for the door. "Your instructions are on your desk in your room."

"Yeah, okay…sir."

The door slid shut behind Slade. Taking slow, deep breaths, I rubbed at my sore stomach to ease the pain away. Placing my hand to my head again, I walked towards the door and stepped out into the hallway. I tried getting to the room as fast as I could. Stepping through, I saw a sheet of paper on the desk. I picked it up and read over it quickly. At eight, when it was dark, I was to go to Wayne Industries and steal a prototype weapon that was for the war; possibly a weapon of mass destruction. Well, at least I was stealing it for a good cause.

"At least the military can't use it," I mused out loud.

"You aren't siding with him are you?"

Turning around, I saw Robin in the doorway. I looked down at the paper briefly before looking back up at him.

"Wayne Enterprises invented this thing for the war," I said, holding the paper out to him. "Don't you think it would be better to take it and not let military use it?"

Walking over, Robin snatched the page out of my hand and pointed to an image of the prototype.

"See this? Slade can enhance it for something bigger than Iraq," he said angrily. "If this fell into the wrong hands, then our entire world could be destroyed."

Robin threw the page to the floor. I stared calmly at him.

"Well, then what do you want me to do about it?" I asked. "It's not like I have a choice in the matter. Or do you want the Titans to die?"

Robin suddenly punched me in the jaw. I fell over backwards, hitting the back of my head on the floor. I sat up, placing a hand to the bump that slowly formed. Looking up, I saw Robin glaring down at me.

"Don't you _ever_ ask me that again," he said angrily.

Turning on his heel, Robin limped towards the door. It slid closed behind him. Feeling nauseas, I slowly stood up, gripping the corner of the desk for support. Looking at the clock, I saw that it was seven. I looked at my schedule; I had to be back in the training room by eight. I had to take my red pills before going to the training room; I so did not want to take them.

The door all of a sudden slid open and Wintergreen walked in. He had a bottle and a cup of water in his hands.

"The medication you asked for," he said placing the items on the desk.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Thanks."

Wintergreen left. I took the ibuprofen before going back to the dresser. There were a few extra black tops inside the drawers with the sleeves cut off at the base. I pulled a clean one out and put it on. With half an hour to kill, I walked out of my room and decided to take a walk around the base. My headache was gone and I felt up to shape.

_'__At least I won't fail my damn assignment now and get punished for it later.'_

I was about to turn the corner when Robin flew past me and hit the wall. I stepped back and saw the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Robin?" Something yellow whizzed past Robin's head and it broke, the remains falling to the floor. I walked up to it and bent down, picking the broken pieces off the metal floor. There was a large black _**T**_ in the middle of the device and it was round in shape. "Robin; why do you have your Titans communicator on you?"

"Because he was trying to contact his friends."

I stood up, dropping the busted communicator. Slade was making his way over to Robin. He lifted him up by the throat with one hand. He gasped for air.

"Slade, please, he was just-"

"Wayne building will take twenty minutes to get to, so I suggest you get going," Slade said. "And you wouldn't want to see me hurt Robin, now would you?"

"N-No, sir," I said stepping back. "I was just-"

Deciding to leave my sentence unfinished, I ran in the opposite direction. I heard Robin scream in pain. I kicked the door to the outside open and kept on running. I soon reached my target and shot my grapple at the roof. I shot up quickly and landed on the roof. Forming Chakra in my hand, I threw it at the floor, making a good sized hole to fit through. I jumped down, landing in a crouch. Looking around, I saw that all the lights were out.

_'__This should be easy.'_

I looked to my left and saw a door. Walking over to it, I kicked it open. I ran down the hallway noiselessly and turned to my left, running down another. About ten minutes later, I reached my destination. I placed a small bomb on the door. It beeped a few times and then blew up. I walked in. Performing a few backhand springs, I reached the protected weapon. There was a punch pad with numbers. I took out a black light and saw fingerprints on the three, nine, six, and one.

_'__Way too easy.'_

I punched in one, three, six, and then nine. The panel beeped. The protective case slid open and a metal tray with a small round object in it came out. I grabbed the small sphere. I stepped back, the room suddenly incased in red light. Looking down, I saw a red beam crossing my foot.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I shouted running to a window.

I broke the glass with my elbow and jumped onto the sill. Concentrating chakra under my feet, I turned around to face the building. I jumped at the wall. I ran up it and reached the roof. I ran across it, but a black wall appeared, blocking my exit.

"You're not getting away that easily."

I turned my head slightly towards the speaker. I saw the Titans behind me from the corner of my eye.

"Hand over the weapon you stole," Beast Boy said.

I slowly reached into my utility belt and threw several smoke bombs at the Titans' feet. Raven's force field vanished and I started running again. I made chakra go to my feet. Reaching the edge, I took a giant leap off the building. I landed on the next roof and heard flapping behind me. Looking back, I saw the Titans running after me. The roof started to end. The thing that lay ahead was the ocean. I skid to a halt, almost falling off the roof. I swallowed.

"Don't move!" I heard Cyborg shout behind me.

Without glancing back, I said, "Look, I'm busy. Why don't you go back to your Tower?"

"Not without that weapon."

"Oh, you mean this," I said turning around, holding the sphere out in front of me. "I don't think so."

I pocketed the sphere and got into a fighting stance. The Titans suddenly had surprised looks on their faces.

"Dude, aren't you that kid that was reported missing?" Beast Boy asked.

I smirked.

"Maybe."

_'Don't be cocky boy,'_ Slade said through my earpiece. _'Finish them off and return.'_

Glaring, I ran at the Titans. I instantly kicked Beast Boy in the stomach. He fell back into Starfire. Cyborg shot his Sonic Cannon at me. I front flipped over it, kicking Cyborg square in the chest with the bottom of my feet. I fell backwards towards the floor. Placing my hands behind me, I did a backwards handstand. I landed on my feet and threw smoke bombs at my feet. I turned around, ran, and jumped off the roof. Returning to base, I went to the control room. I took the sphere out of my utility belt. Slade was sitting in his ugly stone chair. I stopped with my arms at my sides. Slade stood from his chair and walked up to me.

"Have you've achieved your objective?" he asked.

I extended my hand and showed Slade the small device. He took it and dismissed me.

"What did you do to Robin?" I asked.

"He's a little rough around the edges, but he'll survive," Slade replied.

I stared at Slade's retreating back even after he was out of sight. Glaring suspiciously after him, I turned around and headed back to my room, finding a back route. I passed Robin's room on the way. I stopped, turned back around, and knocked on his door.

"Robin? You in there?"

The door slid opened, revealing Wintergreen standing in the doorway.

"Young Robin is sleeping," he said. "I'll allow you to see him, but do not wake him."

Wintergreen walked past me. I walked in and saw Robin lying on his side, his face facing me. Walking up to his sleeping form, I saw that he had cuts, bruises, and burn marks on his arms and face. I looked at him sadly. I felt tears forming in the corner of my eyes.

"Robin…" I whispered.

_'__We'll get out of here; I'll make sure of it. And then Slade will pay.'_

Turning around, I left and returned to my room. Not taking my pills, I went straight to bed.

* * *

"HA, HA, HA!"

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

I jumped out of the way of the two Titans' blasts, landing on the _Y_ of the WAYNE sign. Their attacks hit the _A_. It fell to the roof of the building as I jumped down at Beast Boy. He turned into a T-Rex. I landed on his back. He roared and thrashed his tail around. I growled.

_'__Sorry Beast Boy,' _I thought.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu; the Art of Summoning!"

Jumping up from my sitting position, a pure black sword appeared in my right hand. I ran down along Beast Boy's back with the tip of the sword on his back. He roared in pain. I jumped into the air as Beast Boy changed back and fell.

"Beast Boy!" Cyborg yelled.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

I stopped moving; my body couldn't even move an inch. Raven landed in front of me, four red eyes replacing her usually two white ones. I growled at her.

"Let me go Raven!" I shouted angrily.

"AZARATH, METRION, ZINTHOS!"

Raven's soul self was released from her body and it flew right at me. My eyes widened in shock.

"Raven!"

Her soul self crashed into me. I flew all the way across the roof, falling off. As I hung off the edge, I was getting very angry. I pulled myself up, facing the Titans.

"Sorry to have to do this kid," Cyborg said, Sonic Cannon at the ready.

My gaze was facing the floor, my eyes closed. I stood rooted to the spot, the wind picking up around me. From the bottom of my feet, my Chakra slowly covered my entire body. The sonic blast came flying towards me. It dissipated before it reached. My Chakra was slowly turning black.

"No way!" Beast Boy shouted.

"What are you?" Cyborg asked.

Raising my head, I opened my eyes.

"Your worst nightmare."

The building started to shake as water and earth levitated behind me. The elements went over my head and crashed right into the Titans.  


* * *

"Here's your stupid bio weapon," I said pushing the object into Slade's hand. "I'm going to bed."

I turned around and started walking away, but Slade stopped me.

"I have not dismissed you yet apprentice," he said. Taking a deep breath, I faced him. "Sit."

He indicated his chair. I looked at it blankly.

"Sit? In your chair?" I asked nervously.

Slade didn't say anything. I took that as a yes. Cautiously walking towards Slade and his chair, I stopped and looked at it uncertainly. It was a very big chair and I would be in deep shit if Slade had me cornered in it.

"Sit down apprentice."

Swallowing, I turned around and sat down.

_'__Yeah, a very big chair indeed.'_

I, stupidly enough, had my arms on the armrests of the chair. Slade quickly held my wrists down. I clenched my hands into fists.

"Let…go of me," I said angrily.

"Not until you answer my question," Slade said dangerously. "Did you or did you not take your pills before your assignment?"

There was no sense in lying to him. I glared up at him, ceasing all movement.

"No. I didn't have time to take them."

Slade's eye narrowed dangerously.

"Are you lying to me?"

"No, sir."

My anger from almost getting knocked off a building was replaced by slight nervousness. It didn't help because of Slade's silence. After a few more seconds, Slade released one of my wrists. He took out a remote from his utility belt. Pushing a button, I one of his giant screens turned on.

My fight with the Titans was playing at the point where Beast Boy was a T-Rex. I summoned my sword with the Kuchiyose no Jutsu, the Art of Summoning, and ran down his back. The blade sliced through his flesh, making him roar in pain. The video kept playing. When it got to the point with Raven's soul self crashing into me, my nervousness quickly turned into fear. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't revert my eyes.

I went flying back and caught the edge of the roof. The view of the video was aimed at Beast Boy and Raven, who was no longer four eyed, healing him. The view went back to me pulling myself up onto the roof and standing. Cyborg got his Sonic Cannon ready and aimed it at me. I stood there calmly with darkness surrounding my eyes and my Chakra forming over my entire body. Before the blast could hit me, it disappeared.

_'No way!'_ Beast Boy shouted.

_'What are you?'_ Cyborg asked.

I had raised my head and my eyes were creeping me out. They were a darker shade of blue than normal and they almost looked evil. That one change in my eyes made my fear level rise.

_'Your worst nightmare.'_

I hadn't even realized that I said that and hearing that coming out of my mouth made all the fear come out. Then the video showed water and earth levitating behind me before they went right over my head. The water and earth crashed into the Titans, sending them flying across the roof. I soon started running the opposite direction, bio weapon in hand. The screen suddenly turned black.

"D-Did…Did I-?"

I closed my eyes and shuddered. While shaking my head, I heard Slade trying to tell me something. He gripped my chin and lifted my gaze. My left wrist was still held down. I glared at him, tears streaming down my face.

"There's nothing to be afraid of apprentice," Slade said. "And you have every right to be angry."

I looked into Slade's once cold one. Somehow it was now soft and sympathetic.

"W-Why should I b-be angry?" I asked.

"You knew nothing of your powers, but you knew that your friends had something special about them," Slade said. "I know for a fact that your friends know that you have powers, but they've never told you. Well I'm telling you now. In fact, I've told you before when I first gave you the pills."

I shook my head.

"But, you said th-that they were for my anger," I said. "Y-You said nothing about…_that_."

"Your anger controls your powers," Slade said. "Not taking your pills tonight before your assignment made your powers go astray. You got angry when you almost fell off the roof and you lost control. And by losing control…you were able to take down the Titans."

Silence filled the room. I swallowed hard.

"What are my _powers_?" I asked almost hesitantly.

"Tonight you were able to control the elements of water and earth," Slade explained. "When you were seven, your home almost burned down because of a fire. You were so angry that you controlled the fire in making it disappear. When you were thirteen, your father yelled at you for denting his car and you got angry. By getting angry, you controlled the wind to gain speed and it knocked one of your trees down onto your father's car. But you can do more than control the elements."

I blinked.

"Like what?"

"You can also do things with your mind," Slade continued. "You can lift objects, unlock doors, turn on anything electronic, and do anything you set your mind to."

I thought back to my first day when Slade trapped me in that maze and how I had to fight him to get that damn remote. When I got angry at Slade for getting the upper hand, I lost control, stopping him from punishing me for failing.

"So when my anger gets out of control-"

"-Your powers get out of control."

"And _all_ my friends know about this?"

"Every last one of them."

My eyes narrowed in anger.

"They knew and they never told me?" I asked angrily. "Why would they keep that from me?"

"Because they're not your friends," Slade said.

I blinked, not knowing if I liked that or not.

"So you're telling me the truth to…to _help_ me?"

"I made the pills to help you seize control of your powers," Slade said. "I've been helping you from the very beginning."

I fell silent. My anger was replaced by pain. Slade finally released my other wrist and stepped back. I looked down at my hands.

"Can I return to my room now sir?" I asked quietly.

"You're dismissed."

Standing up, I walked to the door and left, returning to my room. I grabbed both pill bottles and sat down on my bed, staring at them. Sighing, I took the blue pills. Without even turning off the light, I lay down and closed my eyes.  


* * *

I thought seizing control of my powers would be as easy as one, two, three. It was much harder to be honest. Hell, now it seemed impossible. It was like trying to look left and right at the exact same time.

For five minutes I stared at my hand, hoping to cover it in fire. I thought keeping my mind calm would work.

"Tell me again why I should be doing this?" I asked.

Slade was leaning back against the wall near me, his arms folded over his chest.

"Next time you face off against the Titans and you get angry, your powers will get out of control and most likely destroy them," he said.

"Right…" I said absentmindedly. I paused. My hand still remained the same. I growled then. "This isn't working!" I suddenly jumped when a spark came from my fingertips. My eyes were wide. "That worked." I scratched the top of my head. "How'd I do that again?"

I was feeling like Naruto when he didn't understand a term or explanation.

"Remember, your powers only seem to work when you're angry," Slade said. "As of now they only know how to be triggered by anger."

I blinked. Okay, so I had to think of something to make me angry. Light bulb!

Jumping up, I said, "Alright; Ice, Cora, Sheilee, Alan, you didn't tell me what I should've known a long time ago, so I am really pissed." I glared at my hand, thinking solely on them. "You didn't tell me I had these powers and that really pissed me off. Now light!" My hand started to shake, I was clenching it so hard. When I thought nothing would happen, I was overfilled with joy when a small flame formed on my knuckles. It slowly spread, covering my entire fist. "HA!" The fire continued to spread past my wrist and up to my elbow. Holding my arm straight out, I slowly opened my hand a bit, my fingers still curled slightly. The fire soon traveled backward the way it came, swirling into a ball in my hand. "Okay, now to calm my mind a bit and hope it stays." Every time my angry mind went down a notch, the fire was dissipating. "D-Don't do that! Come on!"

The fireball was slowly disappearing. Growling angrily, I gripped my wrist tightly and thought back to my friends and how they betrayed me. The fireball was slowly growing again and I kept that anger building. Soon Chakra formed at the bottom of my feet and was forming up around my ankles and was soon reaching my knees. The fireball continued to grow, pushing my fingers outward in order to fit in the palm of my hand. Soon my Chakra reached my waist and was almost past my navel when Slade decided to push my arm down, making me lose my concentration. The fireball vanished quickly and my Chakra was slowly going back down my legs.

"We will try again tomorrow," Slade said, releasing my arm.

Looking away, I folded my arms over my chest.

"It's impossible to do this," I said.

"Nothing is impossible."

I looked over and glared at Slade.

"Then you try looking right and left at the exact same time-!" That was it. Unfolding my arms, I did a few hand signs. "Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" A clone appeared beside me. I looked at it. "While I get angry, you stay calm. Hold your hands around mine." Holding my hand up, I thought of my friends and anger quickly entered my mind. "Now help me concentrate on making fire."

"Okay, fire; got it," my clone said. A flame formed in the palm of my hand. "Why not use the fireball technique to do that?"

"It isn't the same thing," I said, keeping my eyes on the flame.

"But wouldn't it make this easier?"

I growled, almost regretting the clone idea. At least it helped, feeling annoyed, because the flame steadily grew. I put as much anger and concentration that I could into the tiny flame, which was slowly spinning into a ball. Within minutes, I had a perfect fireball in my hand.

"Alright, now, go away," I told my clone.

My clone vanished in a puff of smoke. With a mix of anger and calmness, the fireball stayed the same.

"Interesting."

I closed my hand, the ball disappearing.

"It's simple really," I said, looking at him. "Make a clone and when it disappears, their information returns to you. I made my clone stay calm while I was angry. When I made it go away, its state of mind was added to mine. Eventually I won't need that method…hopefully."

Slade was silent momentarily.

"We will practice with a bo staff for the remainder of the day," he said, taking two out of his utility belt. He tossed one to me and then walked off. I extended the staff at my side, thinking of my katana that was in my room. I wanted to use it against Slade at some point. I didn't want to forget how to use it. "Are you ready?"

Looking at Slade, I nodded.

"Yes sir."

* * *

Three months had passed since learning about my powers. Everyday for two hours I would use my clone technique to help me control them. Then we would train with a bo staff and boomerangs that were kind of heavy. I also learned a few more combat skills and was able to control the Slade-bots with my mind. I continued to take the pills every morning and night. Hopefully I'd be able to stop taking them.

According to Slade, I would be able to use my powers without using my anger soon. Today I was to control a large amount of water without looking at it. I placed my hands together with my thumb, pointer, and middle fingers placed together and my other fingers crossing over each other. My elbows were sticking out as I held my arms up, my hands in front of my face. With my eyes closed lightly, I thought of the same thing that I thought about every time I tried using my powers.

The sound of moving water reached my ears. It moved forward and then back, like the ocean tide. Standing next to me was a clone, doing the same thing I was doing, except with a calm mind. My eyes clenched tightly together as I concentrated a little harder.

_'__Come on dammit. You can do this.'_

My clone suddenly vanished. My eyes shot open right when something big and wet grabbed a hold of me. I slowly looked over my shoulder. My eyes widened once I saw what had me. A giant hand made out of water lifted me into the air and started pulling me backwards towards the pool. I did a few quick hand signs.

"K-Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Twenty clones appeared and leaped into action. They grabbed at the water fingers and started to pull, trying to pull the hand off. Jets of water suddenly hit them, making them disappear with loud _poof_s. I tried more hand signs to make a bunch of clones, but water tendrils grabbed my arms and pinned them to my sides. This was just not my day. I growled.

"S-Slade! Do something!"

The hand suddenly pulled me into the pool, dragging me towards the bottom. I struggled, trying to control the hand to let go, but it wouldn't disperse. I hadn't had enough time to take a deep breath. Unable to hold my mouth closed, I opened it, water flooding in. A wave of bubbles erupted from my mouth. I closed my eyes and my mind became numb. I soon landed on the bottom, my back crashing into it. My world was slowly blackening around me…

_Don't give up now, baka. Just breathe!_

My eyes shot open. Quickly rolling over, I puked up all the water that had filled my lungs. I coughed violently, water and snot spraying out of my nose. I fell into a coughing fit.

"Ugh, shit," I breathed out. My body was freezing and sopping wet. My hair was plastered over my forehead, water dripping off the tips. "J-Jesus its cold…" A towel landed on my head and upper back. I sat down and pressed it against the top of my head, rubbing vigorously at my hair. "Remind me to never do that again."

"You will try again tomorrow," Slade said behind me. "Once you're done groveling, get up and follow me." I draped the towel around my shoulders before standing up and following Slade to the infirmary. "Sit."

I sat down onto the medical table while Slade left the room. He soon came back with fresh, clean boxers, shorts, and a tank top. He placed them down next to me. I was suddenly feeling lightheaded.

"That was embarrassing," I said, wiping my face with the towel after sneezing.

"Hurry and get out of those wet clothes," Slade said. "We can't have you getting sick."

"Yes sir."

Slade left, the door closing behind him. Standing up, I threw the towel onto the table and quickly undressed. I got dressed with the clean boxers and shorts. I walked out with my shirt in my hand. Slade was waiting for my return. He dismissed me for the remainder of the day. Nodding, I headed back to my room and sat down on my bed. I yawned.

'_I definitely need a nap,' _I thought.

Standing back up, I stretched and got ready for bed before dinner.  


* * *

Two days later and I was trying this again. This time I had a few clones instead of one. The water splashed around in the bucket. A ball slowly formed and rose from it. I used the memory of my nightmare that I had had when I took that nap two days ago…

_"Guys! I finally got a ferret for my birthday," Sheilee announced, holding the little guy up in her hands. "And I discovered a new power! Watch this; Chino, back flip onto my head."_

_The albino ferret jumped from her hands, back flipped, and then landed on her head. I grinned._

_"Lucky you," I said. "Man I wish I could control my stupid powers."_

_Sheilee gave me a confused look as she took Chino off her head._

"_Wait, what powers?" she asked. "You don't have any."_

_I jumped up from my sitting position and smirked._

"_Wanna bet?"_

"_Okay; ten bucks says you don't have any."_

_Chuckling, I placed my hands together, my first three fingers facing up._

"_You owe me ten dollars," I said. I concentrated real hard. Nothing happened. "Huh?"_

_Sheilee glanced at Cora, Ice, and Alan. I kept trying to get a ball of water to form, but nothing happened. I tried harder, but still nothing._

"_Boy what an idiot," Alan said, his wolf ears twitching. "Can't you accept that you're nothing like us?"_

_I glared at them._

"_I know I can do it!"_

"_Haha, yeah right!" Cora said. "Kuráyami was right; you're not even that great of a Ninja."_

_I stared at my best friend in disbelief._

"_Wait, what?! How could you say that?"_

"_Face it, Rocky," Lea said, "you're just a normal person. There is nothing special about you."_

_I stared at my four friends in disbelief. After all we had been through, why were they saying such a thing?_

"_Come on guys," Cora said, turning her back on me. "He's not worth being our friend."_

_All four walked away and then vanished. I was suddenly in nothing but darkness. Anger quickly overrode my sadness. My eyes narrowed into a hateful glare._

_"You bastards," I said angrily. "After all we've been through, you're going to shun me now? All because I'm not like you?" I growled. "I thought you were my friend!"_

_"__They're not your friends anymore."__ Slade was suddenly standing in front of me. "They were never your friends. They lied to you; hated you. They used you for nothing."_

_I glared at him, my Chakra forming around me. I growled, throwing my right arm out to the side._

_"Shut up! Just shut up!"_

_Water, earth, fire, and wind slowly formed around me…_

I didn't believe any of this dream. It had been caused by the fever that I had developed while I slept. It meant nothing…I hoped.

"Alright!" my clones shouted.

I smirked at the perfect water ball in front of me. Grabbing it in my hand, my clones vanished. My anger was replaced fully by their happiness and the ball was still there. Lifting my other hand, I concentrated on it. A small flame slowly formed in my palm and then became a fireball. Holding both hands in front of me, I turned the balls towards each other and slowly put them together. Steam rose from in between my hands. As the water heated and the fire cooled at the same time, I created the third element; earth.

"Excellent work," Slade said, taking the ball of earth from my hand. "Starting tomorrow we will attempt this without your clones. You're dismissed."

"Yes sir."

I walked out of the training room and headed for dinner. I ate quickly and then returned to my room to shower. Twenty minutes later and I was getting into bed. I took my pills with a glass of cold water before getting under the covers and falling asleep almost instantly.


	8. Forgetting the Old Life

Well, being gone for almost six months paid off, I supposed. I no longer needed clones or anger to use fire, water, earth, and wind. I was still taking my medication however. When could I throw them away?

I aimed a roundhouse kick to Robin's chest. He easily ducked and then aimed a punch to my gut. I spun to the right to dodge and get behind him. Producing a clone next to me, I held my hand out to him, a small flame forming. The clone spun his hands around it, helping me turn it into a fireball. Robin turned around right as I aimed the ball at his chest. He was sent flying back after it hit him. After rolling over a few times, he got back to his feet and whipped out his bo staff. He twirled it around impressively a few times before running at me.

Whipping out my own staff, I extended it at my side and ran towards him. Our staves clashed as we struck out at each other.

"You plan on cheating this time?" Robin asked.

I pushed the hero back and snorted jokingly.

"When do I cheat?"

Throwing my staff into the air I performed a few hand signs and then called in a few clones. I grabbed my staff after it came back down and ordered my clones to attack a not-too-surprised Robin. Holding my arm out to the one next to me, I formed a flame. The clone helped form it into a ball. Throwing it up in the air once it was fully formed, I gripped my staff like a baseball bat and swung it. The fireball flew behind a clone. Right when Robin destroyed it, the fireball appeared. His eyes widened when it caught him in the chest. He flew back, crashing several times into the floor. I was about to run over to him to attack when something landed on my shoulder.

Grabbing the hand and arm, I pulled the Slade-bot over my shoulder, making it crash into the floor. I yanked its arm back, breaking it off. After throwing it to the floor, I spun around and kicked another bot coming at me from behind. It flew back into another robot, both crashing into the floor. Putting my staff away, I created nine clones.

"Attack with everything," I told them. "These guys are weak."

"Right!"

My clones sped off, fists and kicks at the ready. Spinning around, I ran towards Robin, who was fighting off his own set of robots. I performed a few hand signs as I went.

"Tiger, monkey, tiger, boar!" Holding my right hand at my side, blue Chakra formed around it, much like the Chidori, Jutsu of a thousand birds. Mine had a much more different name. Jumping into the air, I came down towards a robot's head. I aimed my hand for it, shouting, "Wolf Fist of Fury!"

Touching the Slade-bot's head, I forced it down to the floor. I landed on one knee, smashing the head into tiny pieces. Quickly standing up, the Jutsu vanished and I attacked another bot with a right fist.

Ten minutes later and Robin destroyed the final robot. My Wolf Fist of Fury slowly dissipated. He didn't even give me a chance to use it.

"H-How many did you get?" Robin asked, out of breath.

I, too, was out of breath.

"Thirty; you?"

"Damn; twenty-nine."

Lifting my right arm, I placed my left hand in the crook of my elbow and grinned.

"Blame the Chakra baby; hehe!" I stretched out my arms above my head. I yawned. "I'm ready for bed."

"It can wait." Looking past Robin, I saw Slade standing behind him. Robin turned to face him. "Rocky, I have to explain your mission to you in a few nights." Nodding, I walked past Robin, said good night to him, and left with Slade. He led me to a small office and sat down behind a desk. "Sit."

To me, Slade wasn't the office type. I sat in the vacant chair. Slade pulled out a blank folder before sliding it towards me. Stopping it with my hand, I opened it. I scanned the page, my eyes widening. Looking up, I glared at him.

"Cooper Industries?" I asked angrily. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"I never joke," Slade said, standing up. "The scientists at this facility have been creating a radioactive hyper beam that can destroy a whole city in seconds." I glared at the desk. I heard Slade walk around it. "As of now there is a small prototype with a disk that controls it." Slade was now behind me, gripping my shoulders. "I want you to steal it for me."

I held in the urge to growl.

"I can't," I said angrily. "Cora's my friend-"

Slade's grip tightened. I growled this time, my eyes clenched shut.

"She is not your friend anymore," he said, "they never were. They lied to you, kept your powers a secret, and betrayed you. You are my apprentice and you will do exactly what I say if you want the Titans to keep on living their pathetic lives. I will annihilate them and I _will_ make you watch. Are we clear?"

Opening my eyes, I glared.

"Yes sir."

"Good boy," Slade said. He took his hands off my shoulders and stepped back. "Get some rest. You will need it for the long drive in a few days."

"Yes sir."

Standing up, I left the office, Slade following right behind me. We returned to the training room. I walked past Robin, who followed after me with his gaze. Returning to my room, I looked at my bottle of sleep pills and glared at them.

'_I have yet to complete my new attack,' _I thought. _'I won't sleep until it's finished.'_

Around three in the morning, I snuck out of my room and went into the training room. I created nine very tired-looking clones.

"It's three in the morning," one said, sounding very annoyed.

"Yeah, what are we doing here?"

"Just shut up," I said. "I need one of you to stand beside me." One of my clones appeared by my side. "The rest of you, get into pairs." My clones did what they were told. "Now one out of each pair, one of you make a flame, one make water, one make wind, and one make earth." It took my clones a while to decide who created what. Once they were ready, I continued, "Now the other clone of the pair, form your element into a ball, like we've always done. Then give them to me."

The clones created their given elemental ball within minutes. I held my right hand out to the clone next to me. The clones with the balls came forward and placed them into my hand.

"Now stand in two lines, one clone behind another." As they did what they were told, I looked to my other clone. "I want you to form a ball with all four elements." Nodding, my clone moved his hands around mine. The balls slowly swirled together. I concentrated on them as they formed into one black ball with a mix of the different colors of each element; red, blue, white, and brown. "Alright, now stay where you are clones as I attempt to destroy you all."

The clone next to me vanished in a puff of smoke. Holding my arm out from my side, I curled my fingers around the swirling ball and then threw my hand forward. The black ball flew at my clones. They braced themselves for contact. I growled when only the first two rows vanished in smoke. Only four clones remained and the ball was gone. I sighed.

"Okay, let's try this again…"

* * *

The last two nights I had snuck into the training room to perfect my new attack. I hadn't come up with a name yet. I kept using the same technique with my clones. They were slowly getting sick of me for using them so much. Tonight I would only have four clones for pairs. Two of them in a pair would create two different elements; fire with water, earth with wind.

"How many more times do we have to do this," one clone that was making fire and water asked.

"Until I harness this new attack," I said. "We're almost there, I promise. Then we can go to bed." This got my clones to work harder. They soon gave me their elemental balls in my hand. "All ten of you stand in a line." They got into two lines, five in each. The clone next to me swirled the elements together to create one big ball of black. "Alright; I'm ready."

My clone vanished. Gripping the ball tightly, I threw my arm forward. It flew towards my clones, crashing into all ten of them. They vanished with loud _poof_s. The ball slowly vanished the farther it went.

"Now I have to see how it holds against twenty clones."

"You will have to try some other time."

My body froze and my breath hitched in my throat briefly.

"I know I should be asleep, but-"

"No, its fine," Slade said. I turned around to face him. "It's quite remarkable really. Even Raven would be overwhelmed."

I looked away.

"I should probably go to bed…"

"You can sleep in the car," Slade said. "It is six in the morning. Today is the day for your next assignment."

I was silent momentarily.

"Why can't Robin do it instead?" I asked carefully.

"Robin has his own assignment here in Jump City," Slade said. "He will most likely face against the Titans. He knows all of their weaknesses. Besides, wouldn't you prefer being close to home?" I didn't reply. "Take a shower and then meet Wintergreen in the kitchen for breakfast."

"Yes sir."

Today was going to be a shitty day.

* * *

The ride up through California was boring. Thankfully I had been able to sleep almost the entire time.

"Will you be alright, young sir?" Wintergreen asked me when we crossed the border.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh yeah, I go around stealing from my friends _all_ the time," I said sarcastically. I folded my arms over my chest and looked out the window. "God, how does someone like you work for a guy like Slade?"

"I have known Slade for many years," Wintergreen answered. "I helped him into the army when he was of illegal age, took care of him after his ex-wife shot him in the eye, and, despite everything he has done, I have stuck by him and will continue to do so."

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

"You're that devoted to a guy who kidnaps children, steals, does bad things, and possibly kills people?" I asked. "Either you are or you're just as fucked up in the head as he is."

There was a moment's silence before Wintergreen spoke again.

"I do not agree with every decision Slade makes, but I stand by him no matter what those decisions are. I know what he has done in the past and they may seem horrible, but there is more to Slade than meets the eye."

I frowned.

"Like what?" I asked.

Wintergreen shook his head.

"That is not for me to discuss," he said. "Maybe someday he will trust you enough to tell you."

I blinked.

"Yeah," I said, looking out the window again, "right."

Around six, we finally arrived in a forest area in Medford, Oregon, where we waited until sundown to make a move. I was glad I had worn pants because it was freezing. It was, after all, February.

"I will be waiting right here for you young sir."

I started to get out of the Hummer, saying, "Yeah, yeah, and stop calling me 'sir'. I'm only fourteen for Christ sakes."

After slamming the door shut, I stealthily made my way towards the building that was owned by Cora's adoptive father, Mr. Cooper. Reaching it ten minutes later, I shot my grapple and was pulled up soon after onto the flat roof. I pocketed the device and then found a place to put my bomb. A small explosion occurred, creating a hole. I jumped through, landing in a crouch like a cat. I looked around; I was in a small lab with glass cabinets and things you'd find in a science classroom. Looking to the right, I saw a door. I stood up straight and opened it with my mind as I approached it. Peeking around the corner, I looked to my right, going in that direction. Five minutes later and I found a door labeled **TOP SECRET **in silver. I unlocked it with my mind. It slid open and I stepped inside.

At the far end of the room sat a safe on a desk. I slowly approached it, regretting each step I took. Stopping in front of it, I swallowed. I stared at the safe for a long time.

_They're not your friends anymore._

"What am I doing?" I asked with a growl.

My earpiece came to life.

_"You're getting what I want."_

I placed a hand on my head.

"But…I can't," I said with a glare. "I just can't."

_"Yes you can,"_ Slade said. _"They lied to you, but I told you the truth. They're not your friends anymore."_

"Yes. They. Are," I protested with gritted teeth. "Not telling me isn't the same as lying…" I paused, "is it?"

There was a long pause.

_"Do as I command or you'll have four dead teens on your conscience."_

That was the best he could come up with? I growled, thinking of the Titans lying dead at my feet and Robin hating me. My friends would understand why I did it…right? I lowered my hand. Placing it on the safe door, my Chakra surged through the steel and unlocked it from the inside. The door slowly swung open on its own accord, revealing the prototype and a red disk. I reached for them, but stopped, my hand shaking.

_They're not your friends anymore._

My eyes narrowed into a glare. Growling, I yanked the items out and pocketed them.

"Slade, you're right," I said. I slammed the safe door closed and stepped away. "They're not my friends anymore."

_"That's my boy."_

Turning around, I walked back the way I had come and returned to the room I landed in. I quickly pulled myself up and ran across the roof.

"Rocky?"

I slid to a stop at the edge of the roof. Swallowing, I slowly turned around. Lea, Alan, Courtney, and Sheilee were standing behind me. I stared coldly at them. Sheilee stepped forward.

"Rocky, is that really you?"

I stepped back an inch, ready to jump if I had to.

"_Don't tell them anything," _Slade said dangerously into my earpiece.

Courtney glared at me.

"Give me back what you stole."

I growled.

"Why should I?" I asked angrily.

"Because I told you to," Courtney said. "That's what friends do. If you steal that, you'll put my father and his work out of business."

I snorted.

"Like it would matter," I said. "It's not like _your _family is hurting for money."

"That's not the point!" I growled. "The point is that you're not a criminal, you're my friend! Now give it back to me!"

I gave them a slightly surprised look.

"My friend?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, your friend," Cora said angrily.

I growled.

"If you were truly my _friend_, all of you wouldn't have kept my powers a secret," I said angrily. "You were never my friend!" I performed a few hand signs. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A clone appeared next to me.

"Dude, what is the matter with you?" Sheilee asked. "What do you mean we were never your friend?"

I growled at them, Chakra forming at my feet.

"All of you knew I had powers, but none of you told me!" I shouted angrily.

"There's a reason we didn't tell you, baka-head!" Cora said angrily.

"Yeah, I know why! Slade told me the reason why!"

"Then whatever he told you was a lie!" Cora shouted back. "We didn't tell you because we thought it was best not knowing! If you knew, you never would have been able to control them!"

That was the real reason why?

"That's what you thought, huh?" I asked quietly. Holding my hand out to my clone, I formed a small flame. The clone swirled it into a ball of fire. "It looks like you were wrong."

Forming a ball of fire in my other hand, I put the two flames together to make an even bigger one. Holding it in my right hand at my side, I ran towards them, fire trailing behind me. I chucked the fireball, making them scatter. Alan spun around and grew out his wolf claws and fangs. I aimed a punch for his face as he aimed a clawed hand for my chest. Ducking, I punched him in the gut and then a quick uppercut to his face. Alan was sent into the air.

Spinning around, I blocked a punch from Lea. She sent a flurry of them at my chest and face. I blocked all of them before spinning around and kicking her in the gut. She flew back and crashed into the floor. I heard a fist coming for the back of my head. Turning sideways, I grabbed Cora's arm with both hands and then threw her head-over-heels. It was a clone, as the puff of smoke clearly showed.

"Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!"

Spinning around, I quickly summoned a wall of water and threw it at the fireball from the real Cora's Jutsu.

"Will you just listen to me?!"

To answer her, I ran forward, fist at the ready. Cora growled and charged, forming her own fist. We aimed them at each other. I socked her in the jaw. Cora flew back and crashed into the floor. The time for listening and talking was over.

"Chino; attack!"

Something slim, lanky, and furry landed on my head and sharp claws started attacking me. Chino, Sheilee's albino ferret, scurried around my shoulders, clawing anything he could get to. I tried to smack him off, but he was too fast. I spun around in place, trying to grab him. Snatching his tail, I pulled as hard as I could. His claws scratched my neck, drawing blood as he was pulled away. Tossing him to the floor, I lifted my foot to step on him. Alan suddenly appeared in front of me. He clawed me in the stomach and then used his palm to uppercut my chin. I crashed backwards several times, flipping and rolling. With a final roll, I fell over the edge.

"Gotcha!" Looking up, I saw Sheilee pulling me up. I grabbed the edge and then pulled up the rest of the way. We both stood up. "You okay?"

Sheilee cried out after I used my arm to hit her in the chest. Cora was running towards me, a Chakra fist at her side. After biting into my thumb to draw blood, I performed boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram with my hands.

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"

My sword appeared in my hand. Grabbing the hilt with both as Cora was feet from me, I quickly thrust forward. Blood splattered the floor and my shoes. Cora was hunched over my shoulder. I was glaring. Cora vomited up a bunch of blood. Standing up straight, I yanked my sword free and stepped to the side. There was a loud crash as Courtney fell to the floor. I made several clones to attack Alan and Ice, who were getting back up for another round. My sword vanished. Turning around, I summoned a chunk of earth and jumped onto it. As I started to lower to the bottom of the building, I collapsed from the pain in my abdomen and gut. The chunk of rock flew off right as an explosion occurred back at the building.

"_On your feet Apprentice,"_ Slade commanded.

I closed my eyes.

"I…c-can't…"

_"__You can and you will,"_ Slade said. _"Now get on your feet."_

The rock fell to the forest floor. I lay there for a few seconds in silence. Slowly opening my eyes, I pushed myself up with my hands and stumbled to my feet. I placed my arm around my stomach and limped my way to the Hummer. Stumbling, I grabbed the side of the vehicle and made my way around to the passenger side. I tried to open the door with difficulty, feeling weaker every second. It soon opened and I stumbled back. My head started to throb painfully. I carefully walked back to the opening and grabbed the handle at the top. I pulled myself up with difficulty, collapsing into the seat. Reaching over, I closed the door.

"I heard the explosion young sir," Wintergreen said. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said, closing my eyes instantly, "took an arm and a leg to get." I don't think Wintergreen got it as the silence now showed. I sighed. "Let's go back, Wintergreen."

"Yes young sir."

Closing my eyes, I instantly fell asleep.

* * *

"There were deep claw marks in his chest and stomach along with smaller scratches on his neck and scalp. He lost a lot of blood."

I heard voices, but I was too tired to care.

"Thank you, Wintergreen. Tend to Robin while I take Rocky to his room."

"Yes sir."

My chest and stomach were hurting. I felt a strong pair of arms lift my aching body up from whatever I had been lying on. My head rolled to the side, hitting what I could safely assume was Slade's armored chest. He walked out of whatever room we had been in and turned left…or was it right? My head pounded just thinking about it.

"Good work last night, apprentice," I heard Slade say. "You retrieved the prototype and the disk, turned on your friends, and fought them with great strength. I am very proud of you." A few minutes later and I was set down on something soft. Something warm and heavy was pulled over my aching body. "Good night, apprentice."

I heard Slade walk off. My eyes remained shut, even after the door closed. I felt myself drifting back towards darkness. Only one thought crossed my mind.

_'__Thank you…Slade-sama.'_

* * *

The next few days were spent resting and healing. And surprise, surprise; I was finally rid of that stupid medication. I ate as much as I could to get my strength back fast. Bandages were wrapped securely around the claw marks to keep them from opening up. After four days I was back in the training room, kunai in hand. I had to make sure my Chakra level was still in perfect shape. Placing my hands together, I concentrated Chakra to my feet, my main focus on the wall in front of me.

I was about to run at the wall when a voice behind me asked, "What are you doing?"

Tripping, I fell flat on my face. Quickly recovering, I looked over my shoulder and glared at Robin.

"You made me lose my concentration," I said, annoyed.

Looking back at the wall, I went back to what I was doing. With kunai still in hand, I gripped it sideways tightly and then ran at the wall. Lifting my leg, I placed my foot on the smooth surface and then ran up it as high as I could go. When I felt my Chakra slipping away, I scratched a thick line in the wall before pushing off and back flipping back to the floor. I landed in a crouch like a frog.

"How do you do that?" Robin asked.

I looked at him over my shoulder.

"Its called Chakra control," I said, facing him.

"And how do you control Chakra?" he asked.

"Without excessive training like I've been through, you wouldn't be able to do it," I said.

"Well I know Martial Arts."

"This is different," I said. "If I had the ability to check your Chakra strength, I would tell you, but I don't. But if you wanna know…"

"Yeah, I do," Robin said.

Nodding, I began to explain this…

"There are two forms of Chakra," I explained. I put up one finger. "The first one is spiritual Chakra. You can't get excited or it won't work very well." I put up a second finger. "Then you have body Chakra. You have key points in your entire body. Block one of those and your Chakra won't flow properly. Block too many and it can kill you. So you gather both Chakras at the bottom of your feet. Then you have to expel it from your body to make yourself climb up the wall or a tree. You can even walk on water, but that's way more difficult than with something solid. If you expel too much Chakra, you could break a wall or tree trunk. Expel too little and you fall and hit your head, most likely."

I paused to let Robin memorize everything. He glanced at the wall.

"And what's that thing you do with your hands?" he asked.

"You mean this?" I asked, putting my hands together to form the ram zodiac sign. Robin nodded. "Certain Jutsus require hand signs. Put your pointer and middle finger up with your hands together, like so," I showed him with both pointer and middle fingers facing straight up, "and that's the sign for tiger. You have to do them pretty fast if you want to get your Jutsu out there, especially during times of battle. I usually use tiger to concentrate on my Chakra."

"How do you know you're expelling Chakra to a body part?" Robin asked.

I shrugged.

"Well you can't tell unless you do a Jutsu or climb the wall," I said. "I highly doubt you could do it. You haven't trained with Chakra. I wouldn't even attempt it if I were you."

Robin nodded.

"Maybe." I turned back to the wall and concentrated Chakra to my feet. Gripping the kunai, I ran at the wall and went a little higher, scratching the wall once I felt my grip slip. "Maybe you shouldn't overdo it."

I snorted.

"I have to get better."

"By wearing yourself out?"

I grinned at him.

"That's why they call it 'training'."

Robin shook his head, his brow furrowed.

"Ninjas…"

Chuckling, I turned back to the wall and attempted to go even higher. Around lunch I finally made it to the ceiling, which was _very_ high up.

"Time to eat!" I said with much enthusiasm.

"Just don't go throwing it up this time," Robin said as we headed for the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah," I said with an amused grin.

We were silent for a while as we walked down several hallways.

"Have you really thought this through?" Robin suddenly asked.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Thought what through?"

Robin's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The whole Slade being your master thing."

I snorted.

"Yes, I have," I said. "Quite frankly, I don't care if they are still alive or not. Besides, it's better to just do as he says and to stop protesting about it. I want the Titans alive just as much as you do. It's better this way."

"For you maybe," Robin said, clearly angry about my decision.

I snorted and stopped.

"Do what you want," I said. "If you want to find a way out of this situation, then fine by me. But I'm devoted to the only person who told me who I was. If they truly had been my friends, they wouldn't have kept it a secret. I always thought I couldn't fit in with them. I was jealous of them. Haven't you ever felt that way when you were with the Titans?"

Robin and I stared intently at each other for a long time.

"What happened to you?" Robin asked.

Shaking his head, he walked away. I glared after him.

"I've stopped being stupid, that's what happened," I said to myself. Losing my appetite, I decided to return to my room instead to take a small nap before training again. Maybe if I took my sleep medication, I would be even more refreshed when I woke back up. I soon reached my room and opened my desk drawer where I kept my pill bottles. I blinked in confusion. "Where are they?"

The bottles were gone. Yawning, I decided to ask Slade later. I got into bed, staring up at the ceiling. My eyes slowly drooped down and then closed. Rolling onto my right side, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Something didn't seem right. I felt a strange sensation all over my body. Even my insides felt strange. And where was I? There was darkness all around me. Now my head hurts. I placed a hand to it, gritting my teeth as the pain increased. Clenching my eyes shut, I growled.

"_What do you mean we're not your friends?"_

I suddenly fell to one knee as the pain was too unbearable. I heard their voices all around me and in my head. Placing both hands on my head, I cried out in pain. The voices grew louder.

"Sh-Shut up…" I breathed out. "J-Just shut-GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Bolting up, I leaned over the side of my bed and vomited. My body was shaking. I flinched when I felt a hand land on my back.

"Are you alright?" It was Slade. I groaned in pain. I had a massive headache. Sweat was pouring down my body and it was terribly hot. I hissed in surprise when Slade placed a gloveless hand to my forehead. "You're burning up."

I chuckled despite my queasy stomach and migraine.

"That's what happens when I overdo it," I said, slowly leaning back to lie back down. Rolling over, I clutched my stomach with my arms, my body still shaking. "My nightmare is what woke me up actually."

"Your nightmare?" Slade asked.

I closed my eyes.

"I was in total darkness and my body felt weird," I said. "I can't describe the feeling. Then I heard voices and the louder they got, the worse my head hurt." Slade ran his hand through my sweaty hair. I groaned, feeling sick all over again. "I-I need to get up. I think I'm going to puke again."

Wobbling out of bed, I stumbled towards the bathroom, feeling dizzy. I placed a hand to my head. Reaching the toilet, I lifted the lid and seat and hovered over the bowl. Closing my eyes, I heaved. I coughed on the foul taste in my mouth and at the back of my throat.

"You might be having withdrawals," Slade said behind me.

I glanced at him.

"Withdrawals from what?" I asked.

"I took you off your medication five days ago," Slade said. "We might need to put you through relapse and then wane you off them."

Looking away, I coughed. Put me back on them? I was getting so used to being off them.

"Yes Slade-sama," I said.

There really was no room to argue. Besides, my head was hurting too much _to_ argue.

"I will put you back on them tomorrow night," Slade said. I tried to stand. Slade helped me to my feet. "I will give you anti-nausea/fever pills so you can sleep."

"Thanks."

Slade left while I stepped up to the sink to splash cold water on my face. I pushed my hair back with water to keep it off my forehead. I was definitely taking a nice bath in the morning. Leaving the bathroom after washing my hands and drinking some of the sink water, I got back into bed on the other side. Falling back to sleep in sweat wasn't a great idea. Slade returned with a bottle in hand. I took two of the pills with some water. He placed a cold washcloth on my forehead. Closing my eyes, I tried to sleep.

Hours later and I was trying to eat a slice of toast for breakfast. I felt so weak and tired. My head hurt a little bit, but the ibuprofen was helping to reduce the migraine and fever. Robin kept glancing worriedly at me. I gave him a weak smile.

"I'll be fine," I said. "Nothing a warm bath and bed can't cure."

Robin looked away and continued eating his bowl of army-preserved oatmeal. I sipped my cold water. My stomach was still a little queasy. Swallowing the rest of my toast, I carefully stood up and headed back for my room. I filled my bathtub with warm water once I got there and then quickly got in. I relaxed in it for twenty minutes before washing up. Once I was done, I felt better already. I got back into bed, which the sheets had been changed thanks to Wintergreen, and laid down. Closing my eyes, I tried to sleep.

My eyes were wide open as I stared up at the blank ceiling. This was getting ridiculous. I was dead tired but I couldn't keep my eyes closed. A loud sigh passed my throat. Getting back up, I decided to watch Robin's training. I soon arrived at the training room. Going off to the side, I sat and watched as Robin attacked several Slade-bots at once. He knocked three down with his staff and then kicked another in the chest, making it crash into another bot. Once all the robots had been taken down, he placed his staff away and sighed. I grinned.

"Getting bored of fighting robots?" I asked.

He looked at me.

"If I could make clones of myself like you can, I would make one," he said. "I've lost count of how many of these things I've helped destroy in the past. It gets old after a while."

I yawned before making a few hand signs. A clone appeared. It was lying on the ground, looking dead. I sweat dropped.

"I guess I can't help you with your boredom," I said sheepishly. The clone vanished. "See if Slade will fight you."

Robin snorted.

"Fighting him is just as boring because I can never win," he said. I shrugged. "Shouldn't you be in bed by the way?"

"I couldn't sleep," I said. "I've tried but my eyes won't stay closed. Those blue pills would be nice to have right now."

Robin frowned.

"I thought you hated taking them?"

I yawned.

"Yeah, well, I have to start taking them again," I said. "Slade thinks I'm having withdrawals. He's putting me back on so that I can wane off them instead. I'm going into relapse; joy right?" Robin looked uneasy for some reason. "Something wrong?"

He shook his head right away.

"No, nothing," he said, turning his back.

I yawned again, feeling tired again. Standing up, I headed out.

"I might be able to go to bed now," I said. "Night."

"Yeah…"

Taking a deep breath, I walked out of the training room and returned to mine. Getting back into bed and closing my eyes, I _finally _drifted off to sleep.


	9. I Am Not Broken

So I was back on medication. For one week I had to take them everyday, but then when week two started it would be every other day. I guess it wasn't so bad. I felt way better than I had been. My fever and headaches were gone. As far as strength went, I was still a little weak. Trying to create one hundred clones was impossible right now. The most I could make was fifty.

It was a crisp, cold night out as I sat on the hideout roof. So many thoughts were running through my head. Where were they now? Had mom contacted the police to tell them their son was missing? Were they worried about me?

"Thinking about home, apprentice?"

Whipping my head around, I saw Slade standing behind me. I blinked a few times.

Looking away, I said, "As far as I know, my parents aren't looking for me. I check the news on the internet and the reported teens missing site, but I haven't been on it." I paused. "I guess this is my home now."

There was a moment of silence.

"It's time for bed, apprentice," Slade soon said.

I watched him walk off out of the corner of my eye. Looking back out at the sky, I stared at the dark clouds drifting over the full moon. Maybe they never loved me…

* * *

I hit my head on the wall of my room. How could I have been thwarted so easily? My left shoulder stung where Cyborg's Sonic Cannon blast hit me. I had bruises on my stomach and claw marks on my chest from Beast Boy's claws. I had even been chocked by Raven's soul claw. I didn't even want to begin with Starfire. My back still felt hot and was burned. They probably would have taken me back to their Tower if Slade hadn't shown up and pulled me out of there. How was I failing? I suppose it was the voices I kept hearing. They distracted me. It was hard attacking one Titan and watching out for another with the voices repeating themselves in my head.

My door slid open. I gritted my teeth in pain when Slade placed a hand to my back.

"I know; I'm fucking up left and right," I said. "Please don't lecture me."

"I only plan on lecturing you about your foul mouth," Slade said. "You're still weak from the withdrawals. I won't hold it against you."

He applied something to my back. Within minutes the burning was gone. He even applied it to my shoulder.

"What are you putting on me anyway?" I asked.

Slade handed me a tube, which I read the label on it. I smirked softly.

"Reminds me of medical Ninjutsu," I said. "I can't perform any of it. At least we've got this, huh?"

Slade took the tube from my hand.

"You should rest," he said, turning his back and walking towards my door.

I chuckled.

"Hehe, rest?" I asked. Slade stopped to look at me over his shoulder. I smirked. "I don't have time for that. I have to train to counter the Titans the next time I confront them." I pointed to my shoulder. "These wounds won't slow me down. I will find out their weaknesses and I will beat them." I performed a few hand signs. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Four clones appeared behind me. "Give them the information they need on each Titan and when they vanish, their knowledge will return to me. It will be like four hours worth of information in only ten minutes."

Slade was silent momentarily.

"I will give you that information after you have gotten some rest," he said.

My eyes narrowed. The clones vanished in a puff of smoke.

"I don't give up and I don't back down," I said with a glare. "That's my Shinobi Way." I paused when Slade didn't say anything. "Can I go and train now?"

Slade turned his head back around. I could sense a smirk on his face. I stepped towards him, thinking he was letting me go to the training room.

"No."

I tripped and fell flat on my face, my arms out in front of me.

Quickly pushing my body up with my hands, I shouted, "Ah come on!" The door slid shut behind Slade. I growled lightly and then pouted. "Okay fine, I will rest and then train; ya happy?!" Standing up, I dusted myself off. "Dammit…"

Taking my sleep pills, I got into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

So after breakfast, Slade gave me the files of the Titans. I created four clones and for an hour they read over them thoroughly. Once every bit of information was read, I made them vanish. Soon every weakness of the four remaining Titans were in my head. Once that was taken care of, Robin and I were to fight against Slade. He stood several feet away. Robin was standing behind me on my right. I performed the Summoning Jutsu. My leaf headband appeared in my hand. I quickly tied it to my forehead and then held my hands together to form 'tiger'.

"Can you make clones of me?" Robin asked.

"Yeah. I'll make Ninety-nine clones of you, ninety-nine clones of me," I said. "So what's your plan?"

"Slade won't know which ones are clones and which is you and me," Robin said. "If the clones attack first, we can eventually make a surprise attack from both sides."

"Alright, then what we need to do is stay behind for a little while and let my clones do most of the work," I explained. "Once over half are destroyed, we will make our move. We have to confuse him before striking. I'll take him from the front, you take him from behind. And make sure you move around a bit, especially if he's not looking in our direction."

"Got it."

Nodding, I did quick work with my hands.

"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" One hundred and ninety-eight clones appeared around Robin and me; half of them were me and half of them were him. I had moved sideways to the left to a different spot when the smoke was hiding us as the clones appeared. I saw Slade take out his bo staff and extend it. "Clones; GO!"

Thirty clones instantly attacked Slade from all sides. Ten aimed punches and twenty aimed kicks at his body. Slade easily destroyed five of them with quick work with his staff. More clones attacked as more were destroyed. Puffs of smoke appeared around them, blinding him a bit. He spun around and flipped clones over his head. Elbowing a few as he dodged them, Slade spun around and knocked five clones back with a roundhouse kick. With his staff, he destroyed a clone by hitting it in the head.

Within seven minutes, Slade had destroyed over one hundred clones. He had even jumped in to attack the next group of clones that were trying to attack him from the front. Robin and I were now mixed with the clones to the point where I didn't know which was my real comrade. I had to pay close attention if the both of us were to attack him at the same time.

Slade spun around to destroy ten clones. With his back to me, I ran towards him, weaving in and out of clones quickly. Three clones attacked from the front and both sides. Slade destroyed the one in front then the one on his left. As he was getting ready to destroy the one on his right, I slid right by him, placed my hand down, and then kicked upward. The toes of my shoe zoomed right by his masked face. I back flipped over onto my feet, sliding back. Ten more clones attacked him then, hopefully able to distract him. Soon only a few Robin clones remained. I saw one nod to me, which I safely assumed was the real Robin. Knowing our location worked out perfectly.

Soon only seven clones remained. Two attacked and were quickly destroyed. With Robin in front of Slade and me behind, the last five clones attacked, two getting destroyed quickly. That's when Robin and I leapt into action. Slade spun around to destroy the last three clones. I aimed a punch for the back of his head while Robin aimed a kick for his chest. Tossing the staff high into the air, Slade turned and grabbed my fist with his left hand and grabbed Robin's leg with his right. He easily threw Robin off balance, caught the staff, and then knocked the end into my chest. We both crashed into the floor.

Rolling over backwards, I got to my feet, one hand to the floor, and quickly threw my body at Slade. He stepped back and then kneed me in the gut. As I fell backwards, Slade quickly lifted his leg and slammed it right into my ribcage. I crashed into the floor on my back, feeling a stinging pain within my torso as I breathed heavily.

"It looks like I win," Slade said.

I growled before relaxing my body.

"Y-Yeah, yeah, don't gloat," I said, my voice raspy. "But did you have to crush my w-windpipe?"

Placing a hand to my chest, I sat up.

"Whether or not I did, you still have an assignment tonight," Slade said. "There is a device with electricity coursing through its components. It can send five thousand volts of electricity through one's body, killing the victim instantly. I want it by ten sharp."

I nodded, wincing slightly.

"Y-Yes, Slade-sama," I wheezed out. Slade turned around and left. Robin glared at me. "What?" Shaking his head, Robin also left. I snorted after him. "Don't keep giving me that look."

Sighing, I left to return to my room for a hot shower. After waiting until nine-ten, I took off into the city to get that device. This time, if the Titans showed up, I would be ready.

* * *

"You really need to stop this kid!" Cyborg shouted.

I jumped away from the sonic blast and then attacked Beast Boy. I lashed out at him with my staff. He quickly turned into a bee and flew away from it. Starfire appeared in his place and fired her Starbolts at me. I stepped back several times to avoid them. She then flew down towards me, her hand encased in her green energy. Putting my staff away quickly, I created a clone and jumped onto its back as it crouched. Aerial flipping over Starfire, I formed fire in my hand and then threw it at her. Landing, I quickly spun around and ducked from Raven's black-encased punch. Forming a Chakra-covered fist, I aimed at her stomach.

"GAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Blood dripped heavily down my arm and side from my collarbone. Black tendrils quickly yanked out of my flesh. I stepped back and placed a hand to it. Luckily my collarbone hadn't shattered. I panted at her. Starfire and Beast Boy landed behind me while Cyborg stood with Raven in front.

"Dude, you are under arrest," Beast Boy said. "Either you come quietly or we'll have to get rougher."

I tried to lift my right arm so that I could perform the Shadow Clone technique, but it sheared in pain. My right eye was half closed. Exhaustion was slowly setting in. And the voices, they kept getting louder and louder.

'_Fight back apprentice.'_

Growling, I lifted my shaking arm and attempted to make clones. Pain pulsed through my chest. I closed my eyes in pain, my muscles freezing up on me.

"Friend Cyborg, he does not look so good," Starfire said. My arms fell to hang limp at my sides. "He is hurt and needs the medical attention. Why do we not just take him to the Tower, heal his wounds, and then take him to the jail?"

Opening my eyes, I looked at Raven. We stared straight into each other's eyes. As if she saw something in them, she nodded in agreement.

"Starfire is right," she said, stepping forward. I gritted my teeth and glared at her. "Stop fighting and we'll help you."

I growled.

"I don't n-need your help." Quickly lifting my hands, I did quick work with the signs. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Twenty clones appeared, ten in front, ten behind. They instantly attacked the Titans. Putting pressure on my bleeding collarbone, I gripped my shoulder with my fingers and then ran to the right. I ran towards the edge of the roof and quickly jumped off. Feeling weak, I slowly closed my eyes and then fell limp. My body suddenly pelted down as though I were nothing but a heavy rock. I soon felt myself falling with my back to the ground.

My eyes slowly opened part way. I was lying up against a large, strong body, my arms at my sides. I tried to form words in my weakened state.

"S-S-Slade-s-sama?"

"Shh, you're alright now apprentice," Slade said. "There's no need to speak. You are in pain and tired. The Titans are preoccupied right now against my Slade-bots. We'll return to the hideout soon. You did an excellent job." Slade searched through my belt for a few seconds before pulling out the weapon I had been able to steal. There was a pause. "Good, everything's intact." After putting the electric charging beam in his own belt, Slade started to stand, lifting me up in his arms, one under my knees and the other behind my back. I growled in pain as my hurt arm flopped down onto my side. "You should rest on the way."

I nodded weakly.

"Yes, S-Slade-sama."

Closing my eyes, I let exhaustion put me into a much needed deep sleep.

* * *

"Hey," Robin said.

I was in the training room, punching the punching bag with my left fist only. My right arm was still out of commission and in pain.

"What…do you…want?" I asked, punching the bag with each word.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing after your fight with the Titans two nights ago," Robin said. "I haven't been able to see you since you've been in the infirmary. I've been kind of worried about you." Robin paused. I continued what I was doing, not really listening to him. I still had to get stronger before I faced the Titans again. "Um…maybe you should stop for a while."

I growled behind clenched teeth.

"Shut up…Robin. I…need to…push…myself…harder so that I…don't…lose to the…Titans again."

I spun around and kicked the punching bag. I started punching it again afterward.

"Take a short break at least," Robin said. "You wouldn't want-aaaah!"

Robin fell to the floor after I turned around abruptly and punched him in the face. I growled angrily at him. When I saw the blood coming out his nose, I stopped breathing for a few seconds. He sat up and placed his arm to it.

"Robin, I'm so sorry," I said. "Are you okay?"

"No, it's okay," Robin said, clearly not mad. "You didn't mean to. It was just an accident."

I gave him a beaten puppy look.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be okay; promise," Robin said wiping his nose again and standing.

"I really am sorry," I said. "It's just…you shouldn't distract me like that."

Robin wiped his nose one last time, the blood no longer flowing.

"I'll remember that in the future," he said. We were silent momentarily. "I realize you have been acting strange since you got back on your medication. Is something wrong?"

I blinked in surprise. Robin sound genuinely worried. I shook my head.

"I've been the same way since I first started on them," I said. "There's nothing different."

Robin was clearly unconvinced. He could tell I was lying I guess.

"Those pills…they do something to you, don't they?" he asked. "They affect you in some way."

I scratched my left temple.

"W-Well, since I came back from Oregon, when I'm fighting the Titans, I hear whispered voices in my head," I said. "I don't think they're from my meds. I-I don't know."

Robin gave me a sympathetic look.

"Do you miss them?" he asked.

I blinked in confusion.

"Miss who?"

"Your friends."

I glared at him then.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said defiantly.

Robin's eyes narrowed slightly in sympathy.

"Stop denying it, Rocky," he said. "You miss Cora, Sheilee, Alan, and Lea. Admit it."

I growled at him.

"I don't miss those liars," I said angrily.

Robin closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"You're the liar Rocky," he said, looking at me, his eyes now filled with determination to get me to understand and accept. "You're lying to yourself. You miss them and you know it." My eyes widened slightly. Robin gave me a confused look. "What is it?" I swallowed hard. Eyes widening slightly, Robin slowly looked over his shoulder and saw Slade standing directly behind him, his eye narrowed. I back flipped away several times before landing in a crouch, one hand on the floor. Robin turned around and carefully backed away. "Slade, I-"

I tripped and fell when Slade moved quickly, punching Robin harshly in the stomach. Falling to his knees, I heard him cough up blood. I growled lightly at them, the voices entering my head. Slade stood on Robin's left side, staring ahead.

"Robin, why are you filling Rocky's head with lies?" he asked.

Swallowing, I slowly started to get to my feet.

"Th-They're not…lies," Robin breathed out.

Slade snorted. I was glaring at them.

"If he says he doesn't miss those so-called friends, then he's telling the truth. Do you understand?"

Robin growled.

"Y-Yes sir."

Crouching beside him, Slade gripped Robin by the throat and slowly lifted him off the floor, standing up. I growled again, the voices getting louder. I couldn't see Slade's face, seeing as the back of Robin's head got in the way. I heard him gasping and growling for breath.

"I think it's about time you start calling me master, Robin," Slade said. Letting go of Robin's throat, he quickly punched him in the chest. I stepped back when he crashed into the floor. He curled up into a weak ball, clutching at his chest and stomach. "I wouldn't want to damage you beyond repair."

"I-It's a little…l-late for that," Robin said, still trying to catch his breath. He slowly pushed himself to his knees. "You've a-already broken Rocky beyond repair. He's your perfect little apprentice, isn't he, _master_?"

Something snapped in the back of my mind.

'_Wh-What?'_

Robin cried out when Slade kneed him in the chin. He fell back, crashing into the floor. My hands slowly curled into very tight fists.

"Soon it will be too late for you, Robin," Slade said, stepping up to his right side. Robin growled when he placed his foot on his throat and pressed down. "Your life is still in my hands. And your friends have the same fate."

My knuckles cracked, I had my hands clenched so hard. Chakra formed around my right fist. I growled at them.

"I AM NOT BROKEN!"

Vanishing, I reappeared in the air in front of Slade. He turned to look at me just in time for my fist to connect with his masked face. He flew backwards across the floor, sliding to a halt a few feet away. I landed next to Robin in a crouch. Pushing quickly off the floor, I ran towards him. Jumping high into the air, more Chakra formed around my fist. I aimed my fist right at Slade's stomach. He quickly rolled over backwards to dodge. Chunks of metal broke off as my fist crashed right through, pieces flying past my body. I was about to push off the floor to attack Slade again, who was in a crouch in front of me, when my muscles froze up. I heard a loud, painful ringing in my ears then. Crying out, I fell to the floor, clutching at my head. I continued to scream in pain.

"Rocky! Stop!" Robin shouted.

"I am not broken! Shut up! Shut the fuck up!"

I suddenly felt large hands gripping my shoulders tightly.

"Apprentice, calm down," Slade said. I could hardly hear his voice because of the horrible ringing. "Rocky stop this now." I couldn't; the pain was still there. Slade shaking my shoulders next wasn't helping either. "Stop this now apprentice! You must listen to me!"

The ringing suddenly stopped. I was breathing heavily. Slowly lowering my arms, I placed my hands on the floor, keeping my body up. I panted down at the floor, sweat dripping down my forehead and off my chin. Slade's grip lessened slightly. I swallowed hard about a minute later, my breath mostly regained. Then, out of nowhere, I felt like my insides had been sliced open. I felt blood coming out of my ears and nose. Heaving, I vomited blood.

"S-Slade, do something!" Robin shouted.

My eyes rolled up into the back of my head. Falling over sideways, I collapsed straight into unconsciousness.


End file.
